In a heart-rendingly sad case, a boy has been mauled to death by a dog in Liverpool. And, as the BBC reports, it looks like the dog in question might well not have been legal. Worse, it seems the authorities were aware of a problem at the house, but did not react in time.
Undoubtedly, there will be calls for an investigation, for tightening the rules, for ensuring this ‘never happens again’.
I wait with bated breath for one of those commentators or politicians forever complaining about intrusive officials and health-and-safety madness to make a public statement that absolutely nothing should be done, no inquiry carried out and that no procedure should be tightened.
I doubt they will. But it is precisely this kind of dreadful tragedy that results in the health and safety excesses that so many are so quick to ridicule. This is the moment for those individuals to have the courage of their convictions and speak out for inaction. Will they? Let’s see.
