Metropolitan Police

Campaigners demand Met stop bid to disrupt march for Palestine

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-demand-met-stop-bid-to-disrupt-march-for-palestine

People take part in a national demonstration for Gaza from Russell Square to Whitehall in London, June 8, 2024

SCOTLAND YARD has been urged to abandon plans to impose new orders that would seriously disrupt Saturday’s March for Palestine demonstration in London.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), union leaders, MPs, peers and coalition partners expressed concern over the force severely restricting the protest in an open letter today.

The Met was accused of employing tactics “to deter people from attending” the 18th national peaceful demonstration against the Gaza genocide since last October.

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On Monday, the Met was accused of refusing to participate in negotiations in a “transparent and accountable” way with the march’s organisers.

Signatories of PSC’s letter raised concerns over the eleventh-hour announcement that the Met wanted the march delayed by nearly two hours “without explanation or rationale” and its refusal to allow Pall Mall as an assembly point.

They added: “We worry that these kind of delays, and late challenges and conditions to the plans of what are entirely peaceful demonstrations, are forming a pattern.”

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-demand-met-stop-bid-to-disrupt-march-for-palestine

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Activists arrested in draconian crackdown ahead of planned march to parliament

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/activists-preemptively-arrested-draconian-crackdown-ahead-march-parliament

Police carry off a Youth Demand protester during a demonstration against the state opening of parliament, July 17, 2024 Photo: Youth Demand

POLICE stormed a cafe and arrested activists before they had even begun marching today in the latest crackdown on the right to protest.

The Youth Demand activists were sipping their morning coffees in a branch of Leon in central London, ahead of a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration planned by the group.

The activists were due to march towards Parliament, where the state opening was taking place, to urge the new government to suspend arms to Israel and halt all oil and gas licences granted since 2021.

Ten activists were arrested in the cafe for “conspiracy to commit public nuisance.”

“How is this more harmful than the people arming Israel?” one of the activists shouted as they were dragged away by police.

Shortly after, in Victoria Embankment, another group of activists were kettled in by police before the march commenced. Dozens more were arrested on the same charge.

Among those arrested was Violet Powell, a 23-year-old student.

She said: “Our leaders hide behind pomp and ceremony while a genocide is going on, and our new government are refusing to take action beyond making meaningless platitudes.

“Young people will not allow yet another government to continue ‘business as usual,’ when that business is killing countless people.”

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/activists-preemptively-arrested-draconian-crackdown-ahead-march-parliament

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Met Police arrest people at Just Stop Oil soup night

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28/6/24

The situation remains unclear. Just Stop Oil have issued a press release saying that at least 15 people have been arrested at the organised soup event and at their homes. I noticed the number increase from 14 to 15 at about 10a.m. today and the press release url refers to 13.

28/6/24

While the situation still remains unclear, it appears that there was a huge police operation to arrest just Stop Oil supporters across England last night and the number arrested continues to increase.

27 Just Stop Oil activists arrested in coordinated raid after group threatened to disrupt summer holidays

The arrests took place in London, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Devon, Essex, Manchester, Surrey, Sussex, Norfolk and West Yorkshire on suspicion of planning to disrupt airports this summer.

It comes after six members of the group, some described as being ‘key organisers’ were arrested in Hackney, in east London last night.

They were at an event at Haggerston Community Centre, promoted by Just Stop Oil as: ‘From Roads to Runways – A Just Stop Oil Talk’.

Officers had warned the eco-activists are planning to disrupt airports and holidaymakers over the summer, saying the arrests were made under a section of the Public Order Act which makes it illegal to conspire to disrupt national infrastructure.

One Just Stop Oil source said the arrests were “pathologically evil”.

The number, they said, is likely to be higher as there are other members that they “are struggling to reach”.

Home visits are understood to have been made in cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Norwich and Oxford.

Arrests were made under Section 7 of the Public Order Act, which was passed by parliament at the start of 2023, preventing the conspiracy, planning and preparation for certain disruptive activities.

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Met police fail to engage with Stop the War over abuse

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Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal aera in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Israel continued to battle Hamas fighters on October 10 and massed tens of thousands of troops and heavy armour around the Gaza Strip after vowing a massive blow over the Palestinian militants' surprise attack. Photo by Naaman Omar apaimages. licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Palestinians inspect the damage following an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal aera in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. Israel continued to battle Hamas fighters on October 10 and massed tens of thousands of troops and heavy armour around the Gaza Strip after vowing a massive blow over the Palestinian militants’ surprise attack. Photo by Naaman Omar apaimages. licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/brilliant-speakers-to-address-palestine-march-as-concerns-over-met-policing-continue/

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At the last march, a serious issue emerged when the Met Police placed a counter demonstration within a metre of the main demonstration, leaving pro-Palestine protestors exposed to abuse and direct threats. The Met apologised for their actions when we made these concerns public and indicated that Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist would meet with us to ensure that such scenes would not be repeated. 

No such meeting has been offered despite our repeated requests. Of even greater concern, our requests over the past two days to address with the Gold Commander in charge how the counter demonstration will be managed to ensure safety, have been rebuffed.

Despite the late stage in preparations we have asked for the third time for such a meeting.

We will not allow these issues or the actions of counter demonstrators to distract us from ensuring that the demands for an end to UK complicity in genocide once more echo on the streets of London. The demonstration will be assembling at 12.30 pm at Russell Square and marching to Parliament.

https://www.stopwar.org.uk/article/brilliant-speakers-to-address-palestine-march-as-concerns-over-met-policing-continue/

Continue ReadingMet police fail to engage with Stop the War over abuse

Battle joined to defend democracy

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/battle-joined-defend-democracy

Police look on as protesters gather outside the Business and Trade department in London to show solidarity with Palestine, as they campaign against military arms being manufactured in the UK and sent to Israel, May 1, 2024

BATTLE was joined to defend the right to protest today as the government launched a twin-track attack on the Palestine solidarity movement.

Top cabinet minister Michael Gove launched a mendacious smear attack on the pro-Palestine protests while Lord Walney, the government’s “independent adviser” on political disruption, published his long-trailed report full of repressive measures.

Yet even while moving to attack democratic rights, the government was handed a stinging rebuke by High Court judges who ruled today that earlier measures by the Home Office to make it easier to ban protests were unlawful.

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The organisers of the Gaza ceasefire marches have written to the police protesting at the decision to allow an abusive group of Israel supporters to rally within feet of the march last Saturday.

In a letter the six organisations demanded a meeting with Met Commissioner Mark Rowley, saying that “the whole demonstration had to run a frightening gauntlet of abuse, insult and provocation, the aim of which was clearly to create a physical confrontation.

“We want an explanation of how and why this was allowed to happen and an undertaking that future counter protests will be properly policed.”

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/battle-joined-defend-democracy

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