20 June 2025
Bedford Ian has been looking at recent goings on across Bedford Borough and tells us what he thinks of it all.
Hot dogs
I love all animals, but today, it’s dogs I want to talk about. Because frankly, some people need a wake-up call.
- Would you walk barefoot on scorching pavements?
- Would you go for a stroll in the blazing sun with a fur coat on?
- Would you be happy being locked in a parked car during a heatwave?
No? Then why expect your dog to?
A dog can die in a hot car in less than six minutes. Six. Minutes.
They can’t sweat like we do. They can’t peel off a layer. Their paws have no protection from the tarmac, which is currently hotter than a frying pan. They don’t have a say.
So if you’re dragging them out for a lunchtime walk “because it fits your schedule,” or leaving them in a car while you “just nip into the shops,” you’re not just being careless, you’re guilty of animal abuse.
If someone sees your dog suffering and smashes a window to save its life, don’t expect sympathy. Don’t expect the media to spin it in your favour because we’ve all read the warnings. We all know better by now.
Here’s a thought: take your dog out before 8am or after sunset. Choose their well-being over your convenience, and treat them like the loyal, loving gift they are.
Because if you won’t do that, maybe you don’t deserve them.
Big Brother
This week, we learned that Bedfordshire Police has been piloting an AI-powered tool that analyses everything from race to health data and even political views or your sex life in a bid to predict criminal behaviour.
Read: Bedfordshire Police using AI tool to profile political views, sex life, race and health data
Sounds like something from Black Mirror, right? Only it’s not fiction, it’s already happening.
The system is built by a company co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, who backed Trump, co-founded PayPal, and whose data firm, Palantir, has deep ties to the CIA and other US agencies.
You don’t have to dig far to find serious concerns about how his companies are used to track, profile, and influence people. And now they’re playing a role in our local policing and NHS systems here in the UK.
This is where things start to feel uncomfortable. It’s not just about crime prevention, it’s about how public bodies are handing over our personal data to private companies, with little public oversight and even less political accountability.
Do you know what the police or the NHS have shared about you lately? No? Neither do most people. And that’s the problem.
While Bedfordshire Police says they consider the privacy of personal information to be “absolutely paramount” and that no decisions are made by the AI alone, the bigger issue isn’t what they’re doing; it’s that they’re being left to decide for themselves what’s appropriate.
This isn’t just happening in Bedfordshire. Other police forces and NHS trusts are doing the same. Piecemeal. Quietly. Independently.
That’s not how this should work.
The Home Office can’t just shrug and let local agencies work it out on their own. This is national infrastructure, national privacy, and national law.
But by not leading from the top, the government leaves room for buck-passing if anything goes wrong. If that’s the plan, it’s cowardly and short-sighted.
AI is here. And it’s not going anywhere. But if we want to avoid slipping into a world where private tech giants control public systems, then the time to deal with this is now, not after the headlines break, not when the public backlash starts, and not when another inquiry starts digging into who knew what and when.
This needs to be handled at the highest levels: MPs, ministers, and civil servants, step up. Do your jobs. Because handing over our freedoms one pilot scheme at a time isn’t progress. It’s surrender.
Park(ing) life
Has everyone completely lost the plot?
The parking situation on some of Bedford’s roads lately is like a free-for-all. Take a drive down Brecon Way and you’ll find cars double-parked, wedged in like sardines, or dumped on opposite sides of the road so close to each other it feels like navigating a chicane.
Double yellows on Brickhill Drive? Apparently optional. Zigzags outside schools? Might as well be decorative, judging by how many lazy, entitled parents ignore them every day.
And don’t get me started on the delivery van I saw recently, casually parked on a zebra crossing. Yes, really.
Yes, there are bigger issues in the world. But how are these selfish and stupid drivers on our roads getting away with it?
At best, they’re causing a minor traffic jam or an inconvenience. At worst, they’re going to be responsible for someone losing their life.
So next time you swing the wheel and abandon your car wherever suits you, take a second to think. You’re potentially endangering someone’s child, parent, neighbour or friend. Sort it out.
See you soon, Bedford Ian.
PS: If you see anything Bedford Ian might find amusing, tell us at news@BedfordIndependent.co.uk.
