The practice of carrying out so called ‘secret arrests’, highlighted by the recent case of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck who has held last month over an alleged sexual offence, has come under fire as a ‘short step toward people simply disappearing’.
Tarbuck was held on 26 April but the fact was only made public yesterday on the 7 May after a newspaper got hold of the story, leaving a two week spell inbetween when nobody was any the wiser.
Commenting on the case Liberal Democrat politician and former Scotland Yard officer Brian Paddick, said: “We can’t have the police arresting people and it being kept a secret because it’s a short step to people simply disappearing and no one knowing where they have gone and what’s happened to them.
“It's a fundamental principle that the openness of the criminal justice system starts when someone is arrested."