The television cameras were all powered up and the BBC production crew were ready and waiting for the Home Secretary to arrive in the dedicated studio in the basement of the Home Office. At a minute past twelve- thirty the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon, Henry Harden, M.P. Marched into the studio, and without a word to the waiting technicians crossed directly to the desk and seated himself. “Are we ready,” he asked abruptly. Harden had been a police commander prior to going into politics and then later becoming Home Secretary and he had gained quite a reputation for being hard on crime. He was a very focused man and rarely accepted compromise. Of course his critics accused him of building a police-state, but crime had been reduced by thirty-two percent since coming into post.
“Ready when we have the cue from the studio Sir, stand bye,” said the on-site producer. The amber light started flashing and the producer counted, “Three, two, one,” and his hand dropped.
“Good afternoon,” said Harden, “I have decided to address the country directly due to the urgency of the situation, and of course because of public opinion since the atrocity on Christmas Day. Your government has debated long and hard over what should and could be done to avoid a repeat of this massacre. The appalling loss of life on December twenty-fifth and the horrendous injuries that many more sustained, together with the attacks on two churches in the past two weeks, one in Leeds and another in Cardiff, have dictated that your government take emergency measures.” Henry Harden M.P. Shifted slightly, showing some discomfort in what he was about to announce, then shuffled the papers in front of him. “Emergency powers are intended for times of national crisis, such as war or attack by Britain's enemies. We consider that our way of life is indeed under attack, therefore the government has activated these emergency measures. From twelve o'clock, mid- day today, we have declared the Coalition of Militant Atheists, the so called CoMA organisation as a proscribed organisation, and is therefore illegal to be a member of said organisation. CoMA is considered an enemy of this state. We have also passed an emergency law preventing Christians meeting in any form in public, or in a public place. We realise that this measure will not be a popular one but we must protect the population in general, and we hope that this measure will be a temporary one. It is also aimed at protecting the many Christians of this land as well as citizens that may become involved. There is without doubt a strong anti-Christian feeling in this country, and we would warn anyone who contemplates violence toward any group or persons to think again, we are adopting a stance of zero tolerance. Thank you for listening.” Once the red light had winked out the Home Secretary rose from his seat, gathered his papers and walked to the studio door, “Thank you ladies and gentlemen,” he said as he disappeared.
By the time Henry Harden reached his office on the top floor of the building, his official com-unit was chiming, he stopped for a few seconds in the outer office and told his personal assistant to fend off all but official calls, then entered his office. No sooner had he taken his seat behind the oversized oak desk, than his personal com-unit buzzed, he took the unit from his pocket and sighed as he saw the face of Archbishop Benn. “John, I don't need to ask what you want, do I,” Harden said. “Henry, what are you doing,” asked the Archbishop.
“It's already done John, and I am as sorry about it as you are, but we are subject to the will of parliament, and it was certainly a sizeable majority that passed the measures.”
“This is the worst time to bring in measures like these, did you know that last Sunday over twenty percent of the population attended church, we haven't seen attendances like that for over a hundred years,” countered Archbishop Benn.
“Yes, I am not surprised, but what of the ones that do not attend church, John, and how many of them do not believe in a supernatural being. There are many atheists out there who refuse to believe, even after these so called, 'God Tapes', holding any sort of public meetings at this time is foolhardy. These CoMA people have set a president that we do not want to continue. And John, this includes evangelism, anyone found preaching in public will be arrested,”
“You are making a big mistake Henry, and this is setting another, very dangerous president,” said Benn.
“OK, John, I have to go, thanks for calling,” said Harden and broke the connection, 'Old fool,' he said to no one.