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Zero Tolerance
Russian football side Zenit St Petersburg arrive in Manchester tonight, along with their unpleasantly racist fans, who notoriously refuse to countenance black players in the team. Britain's sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, has warned the Russians that the UK has a "zero tolerance approach" to racism, and fans who step over the line "will feel the full force of the law."
All very well. But why is the idiocy of racism the only crime deemed serious enough to warrant "zero tolerance" from the government? Where's the zero tolerance for thugs kicking innocent people to death? For ranting preachers demanding the deaths of British subjects? For illegal immigrants? Indeed, ministers have gone on record to complain that "zero tolerance" is an unhelpful and populist concept. Except, it appears, when it comes to racism.
