What a beardo...

Or rather, silly story of the week.

Muslim Pc's boss 'accused him of looking like Osama Bin Laden'

I just don't know what this fellow, PC Tariq Dost, is complaining about. Look at him. He does look like Osama bin Laden. Put on the headgear and some combat fatigues, and he'd easily walk into any Osama-themed fancy dress party and win all of the best likeness awards.

Last seen in a cave in Afghanistan? Or not?

I had always thought that there was some sort of code in the police force which restricted the length of hair and beards; I am fairly certain that if I joined the police force and tried to get away with sporting something so obvious I wouldn't stand a chance. But of course, to tell this man to trim it down would be somehow "racist".

According to the article PC Dost is not a front-line officer, but one would assume that being a "uni" he would have patrolled the beat at some time in his career as a police officer. Forgetting the fact that his rather distinctive beard would have stood out and left him open to obvious ridicule, it would have also constituted something of a health and safety hazard.

Imagine this officer trying to arrest a criminal: it is a known fact that if you try to grab someone who does not wish to be grabbed, they will tend to do their own share of grabbing and pulling. The first thing anyone would see is PC Dost's beard, of course - for unlike female police officers with long hair who would be able to tie it up in a tight bun, it would be an inviting target for anyone who wanted to give it a good hard yank.

To think that taxpayers' money is being wasted on this nonsense. Oh, and I would also have asked PC Dost about his weird habit of tucking his trousers into his boots - he worked in recruitment, not SO19. Uniform code, anyone?