BBC NEWS | England | Kent | Mall bans shoppers' hooded tops

This is a perfect example of how life in Britain resembles more and more the life in Britain's schools.

These stupid rules (I wear a baseball cap sometimes, my daughter wears a hoodie) avoid the issue. The management of this shopping centre is afraid to use discretion to exclude troublemakers. If they discriminate in the true meaning of the word, they will no doubt be accused of discrimination in the bastardised modern sense of the word.

So the stupid rules are designed to give a "non-discriminatory" reason to exclude. Bluewater is a private complex and the owners should be able to exclude whomever they please without fear of claims. If they were, I am sure they would not resort to such nonsense.

I love the idea that baseball caps are worn to cover the face by the way. That may be the effect viewed from high security cameras but it does not mean that is the purpose. I wear mine to keep my head warm and my eyes shaded when driving my convertible, OK? And what about Islamic headgear then? Will that be excluded too? I think not.

BBC NEWS | England | Kent | Mall bans shoppers' hooded tops