WHEN a politician puts their foot in it, they always plead that their remarks have been taken out of context. What they mean is, my minders left me unattended for a few moments, I fluffed my lines and now the whole world knows I'm a fool.

But context is all-important when we come to judge people and issues, which is why the story about Adam Briggs, the deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire, interested me this week. Because Mr Briggs, as someone decided to publicise, has a clock in his office which has a swastika on it That insignia is undeniably a shocking and potent symbol of evil. Despite that, and despite my sincere wish not to upset my many Jewish friends, I do hope Mr Briggs keeps his clock on show. I say that because, while we should all do our best not to offend people and to respect cultural sensitivities, we cannot do that by rewriting or sanitising history.

Adam Briggs is an excellent policeman and an honourable man. I am happy to tell anyone about the great work he did in Cleveland as assistant chief constable. He is continuing in the same vein in its neighbouring force. The clock was given to him by his father, who played a small but honourable role in defeating the appalling tyranny the swastika symbolised. When anyone asks him about the clock, he explains this, I imagine, with some pride.

In other words, the clock tells a story. There is a context, both personal and historic, that makes the symbol it carries, relevant, however repulsive it may be.

Contrast this with another story that hit the headlines a while back - when Prince Harry stupidly wore a uniform with a Nazi armband to a party. In this context, the display of the symbol was inexcusable, as he thankfully acknowledged.

Again, it was all about context. By wearing the symbol as fancy dress, the prince trivialised the evil it represented and insulted the people to whom it caused such suffering. The story here, if there was one, was that of a spoiled youth who badly needed lessons in history and manners.

Sadly, he is not the only one. Last year a survey suggested that around one in three schoolchildren were ignorant of Britain's role in defeating Nazism. That is appalling in itself and leads you to wonder on what kind of factual basis they are forming their views of the past and the world in which they live.

The fact is we can all forget pretty quickly when it's convenient. So, we need to be reminded constantly of the reality of our past - of the individual stories, like that of Adam Briggs's father and the bigger picture. We need to remember the compelling story about how we helped to defeat the forces of evil. But we must remember, too, the far less commendable one of how, through weakness and ignorance, we allowed those forces so much rope, so much time to practise their wickedness, that they nearly won. In short, we need to confront the whole truth of our past. At times, that will be brutal and unpleasant, like the symbol on the clock.

In my own office I have a copy of the Torah, the first part of the Jewish bible and the most important document in Judaism. It's a book I treasure as it was presented to me by the Jewish community here in the region and I value their friendship.

When people see it, it invariably stimulates debate about religion and culture - often quite robust debates. So, it helps us exercise the freedoms of speech and thought that were so nearly denied us.

The book tells a story too - that faith and inspiration can endure and even flourish through times of unparalleled adversity. In other words, it is a reminder that truth will triumph and that is why we should never be afraid of it.