As Sherlock fans and paparazzi alike descended on the London filming location of the detective drama today, the show’s star Benedict Cumberbatch once again used the attention as an opportunity to share his concerns on some political issues.


Facing the assembled crowd, Cumberbatch held up four handwritten sheets of A4 paper completing a message that appeared to question the government’s attitude to civil liberties in the UK.

“Questions we have a right to ask in a democracy – Cameron, Theresa May, GCHQ, teachers, parents, each other,” it began.

“Hard drives smashed, journalists detained at airports. Democracy? Schedule 7 Prior restraint – is this erosion of civil liberties winning the war on terror?

“What do they not want you to know? And how did they get to know it? Does the exposure of their techniques cause a threat to our security or does it just cause them embarrassment?”

After delivering his message, Cumberbatch came over to chat to Sherlock fans, assuring them it was “meant for the paps”.

Today’s intriguing events follow a similar incident on the Cardiff set of Sherlock where Cumberbatch held up a sign to photographers that read “Go photograph Egypt and show the world something important”.

Cumberbatch’s apparent decision to engage with the world on political issues comes not long after he completed filming on British movie The Fifth Estate in which he plays Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks secrets-sharing site.


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