An anonymous writer has emailed the Royal British Legion to explain why they changed a Poppy Appeal poster as above:

“There was no intent to dishonour anyone (Blair excluded) and I meant no disrespect to either the Royal British Legion and its supporters, nor to the family of Damian Wright,” the e-mail said.

“I am sorry if anyone felt misled into thinking the legion was taking a position on the rights or wrongs of current military incursions.

“I support the work of the legion, although I think it’s tragic that veterans and their families have to rely on charity, rather than receive the support they deserve from the government so quick to spend money sending our troops to war.”

One of the more interesting points of view in the email is that the writer felt pressurised into this course of direct action due to the fact that despite having lobbied their MP they had “lost all faith in the political system”.

“Those who dissent find themselves labelled as ‘domestic extremists’ and threatened with police violence and terror laws.”

Very true and the way a lot people feel in the UK now, direct action is becoming the only solution for people who want to  protest.   Of course as  the Lisbon Treaty is signed today and the Charter of Fundamental Rights become law across most of the EU, it’s good to know that there is a clause that states that everyone should have the  “..freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority”.

Such a shame then that Teflon decided the UK didn’t need these pesky new fundamental rights and negotiated an opt-out for the UK.

Can’t really blame the writer then for his way of getting across a valid protest.