Tag: Metropolitan Police
We will march against Israel’s genocide and BBC bias
https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/we-will-march-against-israels-genocide-and-bbc-bias/
Palestine Coalition statement in response to Met Police ban – 13 January 2025
Last week, the Metropolitan Police publicly confirmed its intention to prevent our planned protest at the BBC on Saturday 18 January, by imposing an exclusion order banning Palestine solidarity protestors from entering the area surrounding the BBC throughout the day. We will not be silenced.
Since the Police announced their imposing of orders to prevent a protest at the BBC, nearly 200 MPs, trade union and civil society leaders and groups including Amnesty International UK and Akiko Hart, Director of Liberty, Holocaust survivors and their descendants, lawyers, journalists and prominent cultural figures have spoken out in support of the right to protest. Today, they have been joined by over 700 members of the Jewish community.
In recent weeks, Israel has intensified its genocide against the Palestinian people – including massacres of civilians sheltering in so-called ‘safe zones’ and the destruction of the last remaining medical facilities in the north of Gaza. Our marches reflect the overwhelming outrage felt by those who have witnessed these atrocities for more than a year alongside the ongoing complicity of the British government.
Recent investigations have exposed widespread anger amongst BBC staff at the skewed nature of its coverage, and its consistent failure to adhere to its own editorial standards, including by dehumanising Palestinians and obscuring the truth of Israel’s crimes against them. It is entirely unacceptable for the Metropolitan Police to abuse public order powers to shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny.
Contrary to the excuse offered by the police – that they have taken this action to prevent potential disruption to a nearby synagogue – the closest synagogue to the BBC is not even on the route of the march. As the Metropolitan Police have acknowledged, there has never been any threat to a synagogue attached to any of our marches. In fact, every march has been joined by thousands of Jewish people – many in an organised Jewish bloc.
We are calling on all those who support an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as well as everyone who believes in the democratic right to protest, to join us in London at 12 noon on Saturday 18 January. We will assemble in Whitehall, which will allow us to form up in massive numbers, and we will march in an orderly fashion towards the BBC. We call on the Metropolitan Police to drop these repressive restrictions and accept our right to demonstrate at the BBC.
#WeWillMarch
https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/we-will-march-against-israels-genocide-and-bbc-bias/
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA Socialist councillors outraged at Met Police mistreatment of Kurds
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/socialist-councillors-outraged-met-police-mistreatment-kurds
People take part in a Kurdish community march in central London in response to the arrest of seven people said to be associated with the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK. The group is proscribed by the government, and expressing support for it is a criminal offence, Scotland Yard said, December 1, 2024 SOCIALIST councillors in Haringey have expressed outrage at the Metropolitan Police’s treatment of the borough’s Kurdish community.
Six members of the Kurdish community in the north London borough were charged with membership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Tuesday, following raids on their homes and community centre on November 27. The organisation is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and Britain.
Independent Socialist Group on Haringey Council leader Councillor Lotte Collett said that the raids seemed “totally disproportionate when measured against the charges that have been laid.”
She said: “We are minded to believe that this raid was a politically motivated assault on a minority ethnic community that have made their home in our borough carried out at the behest of the Turkish government and was probably sanctioned here at cabinet level.
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/socialist-councillors-outraged-met-police-mistreatment-kurds
Met Police staff to strike for the first time over work from home row
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/met-police-staff-strike-first-time-over-work-home-row
The New Scotland Yard sign outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London METROPOLITAN POLICE staff have voted to strike for the first time, having been ordered back to the office in the New Year.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members were outraged after managers reneged on a blended working deal that allowed them to work from home part of the week.
The new edict affects 2,400 civilians who support the day-to-day work of police officers, but disproportionately impacts women, part-time workers and those with disabilities.
Depending on where they work, the increase in office attendance is from 40 to 60 per cent, 60 to 80 or 80 to 100.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Our members are not bobbies on the beat.
“They are desk-based civilians who work from home just as productively as if they were in the office, but without the stress and cost of a daily commute.
“It’s time politicians and the right-wing media stopped their obsession with telling people where they have to work and started listening to the evidence of academics, employers and employees that shows working from home is a perfectly viable option for many people.”
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/met-police-staff-strike-first-time-over-work-home-row
