Friday 10/11/06
Story: Uniqlo UK, now and then.
Documentary requests, London and Heathrow scenes.
a.k.a. How to be subject to a Stop and Search under sec 44 Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000
The Japanese clothes shop, Uniqlo, was about to open in New York and so our head office wanted our old library tapes of when it opened in London in 2001 and then also how it was today. The flagship London store near Harrods had closed down but we could get permission to film inside the Oxford Street shop. I also reviewed the footage I’d taken back in 2001 so that I could take the similar shots today to be edited with the old shots showing what had happened to the Brompton Road store.
In the afternoon it was off to Heathrow’s Terminal 3, with an authorisation fax safely in my producers hand. We had permission to film on the forecourt area of Terminal 3 and inside near the ANA check in counters. These shots were to be used as bridging shots or the documentary.
My correspondent, who had returned to Japan for the final week of the documentary’s editing, had at the last minute asked for a shot at the entrance to Heathrow including the model of Concorde just outside the airport. Having got the driver to wait for us my producer and I walked to the top of the bridge overlooking the Concorde and airport entrance. I could see a lot of police activity going on below us and was a bit concerned that if my shot had lots of police in it there would be distraction from the purpose and a change to the meaning of the shot. I wanted the scene as normal looking as normal. I set up, took a white balance and framed the shot as well as possible cutting any police activity and vehicles out of the picture. I was literally just about to hit the record button on the camera when a police car can screeching up beside us with lights flashing and three large, armed officers got out and began questioning us. One took me to one side, one took my producer and the third began looking through my viewfinder. I was questioned about the why, what and who of my presence there, asked to produce two sets of identity, thoroughly searched and checked up on over the radio. I was actually a little disappointed that there seemed to be a possibility of me being 1 in 6 Simon Bradley’s when I had always thought of myself as 1 in a million! Whilst my attention was directed to one officer the third one began rewinding my camera’s tape and viewing it’s contents. Now I realise that officers of the law may be able to do that but had thought that general manners and protocol directed them to ask or at least inform me of their intended actions.
So when I saw him I bravely or foolishly challenged him with a “what are you doing” and a follow up “don’t you have to ask me first?”. I of course had nothing to hide on the tape but did wander what the officer might think of the shots I had on the tape of Westminster, MI5 and MI6. It could look as if I was gathering footage of possible targets. Nothing was said but I had my wallet extensively searched and my kit. It seemed that the item which caused the most puzzlement, interest and suspicion was the old piece of cardboard covered in a sheet of plain white paper stored at the back of the camera battery. This was simply my emergency white balance paper, to show the camera what white was under various lighting conditions, but to the officer it was possibly something more technical and he asked me what was inside it, even as he opened it to clearly reveal some cardboard. It just shows that regardless of the item if it is unknown to you it is precisely that, unknown to you. I was told that where we were was still BAA property and not covered by our authorisation fax and then issued with a form stating that I had been stopped and searched under sec 44 Prevention of Terrorism Act 2000. Could this turn into a badge of honour and if so did it carry as much street cred. as an ASBO? As for my producer, she had no id on her and wasn’t even searched despite looking and acting far more suspicious than I!
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