Policing: by consent or coercion?
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/policing-consent-or-coercion
The unnecessarily violent police intervention at a Quaker place of worship is a PR disaster and will only serve to deepen the chasm between them and the public. SYMON HILL reports
THE police raid on a Quaker place of worship last week was not about preventing crime or arresting criminals. It was an attempt to intimidate peaceful protesters. It will not succeed.
At about 7.15pm on Thursday March 27, at least 20 police officers broke down the door of Westminster Quaker Meeting House in St Martin’s Lane in London. They could have just rung the doorbell.
The police, some armed with tasers, charged into a room where the non-violent protest group Youth Demand were holding a welcome talk. Women in their late teens and early twenties were grabbed and handcuffed behind their backs.
They swarmed through the rest of the building, entering every room, including one that had been hired by a life drawing class and even a room where a private counselling session was taking place.
This horrific incident was made possible by the draconian anti-protest laws introduced by the previous Tory government and maintained by their Labour successors. The police reportedly used the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act as they arrested six women. The youngest was 18.
When the Act was passed in 2022, we were told that the police would use it only in extreme situations. That promise is now as broken as Westminster Meeting House’s door.
In their media statement, the Metropolitan Police said that Youth Demand are planning civil disobedience in London. In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in campaigners being arrested for things they are only talking about doing. Even so, this went further.
This Youth Demand gathering was a welcome talk. It was a public event, open to people who had never even considered engaging in civil disobedience before. The police arrested other Youth Demand members in London and Exeter on the same day.
The police’s thuggery seems designed to intimidate Youth Demand from going ahead with their plans for April. The police may hope that the publicity around the raid will deter others from joining in.
Typically, the police have seriously underestimated the determination of people whose rights are denied.
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/policing-consent-or-coercion
Related: Met Commissioner refuses to meet Palestine Coalition
Campaigners launch legal challenge against Ofwat for making customers pay its failures
CAMPAIGNERS launched a legal challenge against Ofwat today, accusing the water regulator of unlawfully forcing customers to foot the bill for decades of neglect by the industry.
River Action launched the challenge on the same day water bills per year in England and Wales increased by an average of £123.
The challenge centres on Ofwat’s 2024 price review, which granted “enhanced funding” to United Utilities.
Campaigners say that the regulator failed to ensure the extra funds would be spent on new water and sewage projects instead of fixing historic issues.
River Action argues that such decisions mean that customers could be forced to pay twice for failing infrastructure: once through previous water bills and again through upcoming charges.
Alarmingly, campaigners warned that Ofwat relies on using simulation modelling to forecast sewage infrastructure capacity rather than real-world data when making its funding decisions.
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-launch-legal-challenge-against-ofwat-for-making-customers-pay-its-failures
Justice Secretary slammed for interfering in judicial independence
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mahmood-interference-slammed-abbott
JUSTICE Secretary Shabana Mahmood was slammed for interfering in judicial independence today after she blocked new sentencing guidelines designed to reduce racial disparities.
Rebuking the minister, left MP Diane Abbott said there have been multiple reports highlighitng how black and ethnic minority people are treated unfairly by the justice system.
She said: “There is a reason why the Sentencing Council is independent. It was made a statutory independent body to avoid even the appearance of ministerial interference.
“This is not the United States. Our political system, our judicial system, are entirely separate.”
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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mahmood-interference-slammed-abbott
‘The energy industry is taking us for April fools’
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/the-energy-industry-is-taking-us-for-april-fools
Energy giants rake in half a trillion pounds out of people’s misery, campaigners warn
GREEDY energy giants have raked in half a trillion pounds in profits since 2020, according to new data released today.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition examined the accounts of 20 firms that produce, supply and distribute energy, and discovered that they pocketed more than £514 billion over the last five years.
Among the top earners were oil titans Equinor and Shell, which saw their profits swell to £140bn and £91.6bn while millions of people struggled with soaring costs.
Warm This Winter spokesperson Caroline Simpson said: “It’s incomprehensible in so many ways and plain wrong that a mere 20 companies have made so much money out of people’s misery.
“The industry can spare a few of their many billions to bring down bills, pay for energy efficient homes and switch from oil and gas to save the planet.”
Households are set to be hit by even higher bills as the Ofgem price cap rises by 6.4 per cent this week.
The average bill is expected to rise by £111 to an average of £1,849 a year.
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/the-energy-industry-is-taking-us-for-april-fools
