No offence

Sir — I refer to the letter headed ‘Poster “protests” in breach of laws’ (Sunday Independent, July 1).

I was a serving member of An Garda Siochana based in Dublin city centre, circa 1997.

The public display of these graphic images was a regular occurrence in the city centre.

Following a complaint from a member of the public who found the images offensive, Section 7 of the Public Order Act was indeed invoked and a number of the images were seized and arrests made. A file was forwarded to the DPP. However, as the word “offensive” does not feature in Section 7, we were directed to return said images and no prosecutions ensued. Tony O’Connor (retired Gda Sgt), Maynooth, Co Kildare