“I urge the public to remain vigilant” John Reid tells us as the UK’s “Terror Threat Level” is downgraded from Critical to Severe. “Evildoers”, “mass murder on an unimaginable scale”, “enduring threat”, he burbles, each sound bite further destroying the sex-appeal of the Scottish accent in my mind. We are reminded that there may still be terrorists lurking out there, that the country is still on a high level of alert. Be afraid, be very afraid, is the subtext. So how exactly are we supposed to be vigilant?

Are we supposed to eye suspiciously every Muslim looking person we see? Every Arab looking person? Every Pakistani looking person? Men with beards and darker skin than our own? Surely not. So, I don’t understand, Mr Reid. What exactly are we supposed to be looking out for here?

Last week passengers on a flight from Malaga, Spain to Manchester kicked up a stink and made two passengers get off the aircraft. Their crime? Travelling while Asian, it would seem. The other bright spark Brits on the flight, mostly returning from package holidays at the beach, heard these two guys speaking a language that “sounded like Arabic”, saw them glancing frequently at their watches, and wearing unseasonably heavy clothing. Okay, so that last point could be of concern – although they had of course gone through the rubber glove treatment that’s mandatory before getting on a plane at the moment. But speaking in Arabic? That’s beyond comprehension in any situation. Since when is speaking one of the world’s most widely spoken languages justifiable cause for suspicion? It’s even more absurd given that Malaga is not much more than a decent stone’s throw from Morocco.

This story has been given particular media attention because the passengers themselves decided they would not fly with these people who “just stuck out” on board. But stories of people not being allowed by aviation officials to fly because they look “Asian” (as those from the Indian subcontinent are referred to here), or because they have dodgy sounding names – y’know, like Mohammed – are common. Like this one.

John Reid wants us to stay vigilant. But the concept of the threat which we are to fear is so nebulous that we are approaching the ridiculous. Look out for that darkie on the bus. Listen out for people speaking Arabic. Be vigilant. Be afraid.

Other posts by Katie Llanos-Small