Snooper Cops Camera Lark Comes Unstuck

Oh no, not another Lothian and Borders Police media yarn. Yes, I know, it's a bit like picking on the class dunce, an outright liberty because they are such an easy target - the old shooting fish in a barrel scenario.
But what the hell, it's Friday and I promise this is the last one, for this week at least.
When press office boss Elayne Grimes sent out her summons last Friday to the media inviting them to a "secret" press briefing - you know, the one about the huge drugs operation that had been one year in the planning - it contained a curious but sinister piece of info for journos thinking of pitching up.
La Grim dictated that said media would be expected to have their photograph taken before they could participate in the briefing.
So what, you might say? But does this mean every non-police visitor going in to Fettes has their photo taken as a matter of course? Probably not. This is very likely to do with L and B's paranoia about staff leaking stories and their determination to nail someone for it.
If they have the photographs of most of the region's journos on file, it makes it easier for the rubberheels in the Professional Standards Unit to put a face to a name when they are taping phone calls. And of course if there's a surveillance op on a cop who is suspected of meeting up with members of the press it becomes that bit easier if you have ID in the bag.
L and B have form for this. At a previous briefing on the Sheila Anderson murder inquiry they tried this lark with the Daily Record's Lynn Davidson who rightly told them to stick their camera where the sun don't shine.
But the rubberheels cunning plan came unstuck. At least one national news desk boss phoned La Grim and stated: "My journos won't be attending if you're taking their pictures".
So come Monday morning, it transpired - no doubt coincidentally - that the camera which takes these pics was strangely "out of order". Funny, that.