International Copper Theft

This piece contains the immortal line: "Theft of metal has been described as the most serious threat to Britain's railways apart from terrorism."

Now managerial incompetence, poor maintenance, the absence of investment in high-speed trains and john Major's weird choo-choo fantasies from his childhood are far more serious in my real world...But copper theft really is taking place out there.

And, believe it or not, it's all China's fault! Not India's, not organised crime, but the Olympics. There is a story here, but the people who wrote this piece have gone for the same old line. I'm surprised they didnt blame Putin as well while they were at it.

Anyway. Someone is stealing metal in an organised way. That's the kernel of this Guardian excuse for a piece of analysis. Lazy journalism.