And another thing…

THIS morning I crossed the floor of the House of Commons (“I knew it!” “About time!”).

Okay, okay, calm down. I crossed over to the Tory benches to have a word with Michael Fabricant, the colourful Tory MP for Lichfield whose question to the Secretary of State for Transport this morning was at number nine on the order paper.

I wanted to ask a supplementary question to his (about the recently announced “stations champions”), and had to make sure that he wasn’t going to ask about the same subject that I planned to raise. There’s nothing worse than trying to get called at Question Time only to find that the person called just before you asks an almost identical question to the one you’ve been preparing: “Er, Mr Speaker… er, can I agree with the honourable gentleman who just spoke… and, er… ask the minister to reassure me that the answer he just gave … er… is absolutely right…? I’ll just get my coat, Mr Speaker.”

Reassured that we were indeed pursuing different issues, I returned to my seat on the government benches (“Boo!” Oh, shut up). And then we ran out of time before we got to Michael’s question! Nevertheless, I still managed to get the following question asked when we turned to “Topical Questions”. You can check the exact wording in tomorrow’s Hansard:

Will the new Stations Champion be responsible for defending the legitimate rights of trainspotters? There is a serious civil rights issue here, with station staff obstructing rail enthusiasts in their activities which, at worst, are harmless and which, at best, provide extra security at some stations.

Or something like that.

The Secretary of State responded basically by saying that incidents involving rail enthusiasts have been exaggerated by the media. But when I tabled my Early Day Motion (EDM) on the subject a few weeks ago, I received a lot of comments from people who seemed to support the view that such platform activity was being actively discouraged in at least some stations.

Incidentally, this was the first time I had intervened in Transport Questions since leaving office last year.

I DON’T table many Early Day Motions (EDMs) but tonight I tabled this:

That this House welcomes the presence and activities of railway enthusiasts on the UK rail network; acknowledges the potential positive contribution to station security made by railway enthusiasts who are often seen as providing extra “eyes and ears” for the security services through their activities; is concerned at recent reports that some rail enthusiasts have been prevented from carrying out lawful activities – including photography – by station and train staff; and calls on Network Rail and the train operating companies to respect the legal rights of members of the public to pursue their interests at stations.

It will appear on tomorrow’s published list. Quite a lot of support from colleagues so far.

FORMER ministers are best advised to stay schtum about issues directly related to their former portfolios. So it is with considerable reluctance that I venture into the area of trainspotting.

I signed numerous letters as railways minister reassuring correspondents that increased awareness of the terrorist threat shouldn’t interfere with the normal (ahem!) activities of train enthusiasts. That included photography.

Yet today we have this piece of nonsense.

Now, as you know, I’m not one to understate the very real threat we face from islamist terrorism. And my greatest fear has always been an attack on the railways. But perhaps some common sense might prevail here?

I am absolutely convinced that Virgin Trains do not for a moment consider that Mr Tan is any sort of security risk. This looks like someone interpreting guidelines rather too strictly. 

In fact, the presence of train enthusiasts in our stations, with their notebooks and cameras, can actually deter other, less benign activity. Most of them are well known to staff and many have cordial relationships with British Transport Police officers. I’m not suggesting that the ranks of anoraks and thermos flasks are Britain’s last defence against terrorism. But our stations are arguably better places for their presence.

I shall be raising this with the minister.