Marina Hyde
The Guardian
“Scientology is not a religion. It is a dangerous cult.” You might agree with that statement, said Marina Hyde in the London Guardian, but don’t put it on a placard. A 16-year-old schoolboy did that last month and was promptly arrested by London police under the Public Order Act. No charges were actually brought, but the arrest still seemed an extraordinary overreaction. It makes more sense, however, when you bear in mind the cozy links that the capital’s police have developed with the Church of Scientology. Two years ago, at the opening of a new church, one of London’s most senior policemen praised the Scientologists as a “force for good … raising the spiritual wealth of society.” Only later did it emerge that London’s police department “had accepted thousands of pounds worth of gifts and hospitality from the church, including attending a celebrity dinner hosted by Tom Cruise.” Chief Superintendent Ken Stewart even appeared in a promotional video for the church, supposedly to help foster “good community relations.” Really? Since when have the police needed to build links with groups that trace their roots to the “intergalactic alien tyrant Xenu”?
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