Metropolitan Police

Police watchdog called in over claim officer ‘shoved’ child at Palestine march

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Original article by Anita Mureithi republished from Open Democracy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. 

11 November 2023, hundreds of thousands gathered in London to call for an end to the Israeli bombing of Gaza | Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images

The police watchdog has been called in over claims a Met Police officer “shoved” a nine-year-old boy at the Palestine solidarity march on Armistice Day.

The force referred the complaint to the IOPC on Friday, hours after being contacted by openDemocracy about the incident.

The boy and his parents were leaving the march for Palestine on 11 November when an officer allegedly pushed the child, leaving the boy and his parents distraught. His parents, Abu and Saheema – who asked us not to use their surname, shared a video of the aftermath of the incident with openDemocracy last week. In it, Abu can be heard asking the officer: “Why did you push a child?”, to which he replies: “You brought your child to a violent protest… think about what you’re doing.”

The Met said: “We are aware of the social media post and have received a public complaint. We are keen to fully investigate the matter and have urged the complainant to pass on any relevant footage. Due to the level of public interest, we have voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC). It would not be appropriate to discuss further at this time.”

A spokesperson for the IOPC confirmed that the watchdog received a voluntary complaint referral from the Met on Friday and said: “We are currently assessing the referral and will decide whether any further action is required from us”.

The boy’s mother told openDemocracy she hopes the watchdog assesses the family’s claim “promptly and in an unbiased manner”.

The incident happened as the family walked over Vauxhall Bridge on their way home from the march. Their tired son was walking a few paces ahead of his parents and sat down on the kerb.

Noticing officers walking in his direction, he got up – and it’s at this point that his parents say he was “shoved” out of the way by an officer who told him to move.

Saheema told openDemocracy the “force and aggression” used by the officer had their son “in absolute bits, crying and holding his shoulder”.

The child was taken to hospital after the incident where – according to Abu and Saheema – a children’s specialist confirmed that he suffered a soft-tissue injury on his shoulder.

Original article by Anita Mureithi republished from Open Democracy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International licence. 

Continue ReadingPolice watchdog called in over claim officer ‘shoved’ child at Palestine march

Anti-war and pro-Palestine groups defy Met Police calls to postpone Gaza ceasefire march on Armistice Day

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https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-war-and-pro-palestine%20gorups%20defy-met-police-calls-to-postpone-gaza-ceasefire-march-on-armistice-day

ANTI-WAR and pro-Palestinian groups are defying Metropolitan Police calls to postpone a demonstration demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip that they have planned for Armistice Day.

Thousands of protesters are expected to descend onto central London once again this weekend as Israel’s bombardment of the Palestinian territory continues.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak heaped further pressure on Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley yesterday to ban Friday’s protest, claiming that it would be “provocative and disrespectful.”

The Met urged the march organisers to “urgently reconsider” their plans, but it has not yet formally requested the power to ban the event under section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986.

The Act would only apply if there was a threat of “serious public disorder” that could not be controlled by other measures.

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https://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/anti-war-and-pro-palestine%20gorups%20defy-met-police-calls-to-postpone-gaza-ceasefire-march-on-armistice-day

Continue ReadingAnti-war and pro-Palestine groups defy Met Police calls to postpone Gaza ceasefire march on Armistice Day

Just Stop Oil deliver an Open Letter to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley

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Just Stop Oil delivers an open letter to the Metropolitan Police urging them to prosecute politician climate criminals and to investigate others. Image: Just Stop Oil assumed.
Just Stop Oil delivers an open letter to the Metropolitan Police urging them to prosecute politician climate criminals and to investigate others. Image: Just Stop Oil assumed.

Climate activist group Just Stop Oil have delivered an open letter to the Metropolitan Police calling for the prosecution of politician climate criminals.

info@juststopoil.org
26th October 2023

Dear Sir Mark Rowley,

Just Stop Oil supporters will remain in civil resistance until you prosecute the criminals responsible for crimes against humanity and acts of genocide

The facts are clear. New oil and gas licensing in 2023 will kill hundreds of millions of people, adding to the already mounting global death toll from climate breakdown. It will push our climate, oceans and the living world beyond the point of no return, triggering runaway global heating and setting in motion an unstoppable process of global societal collapse. To know these facts and still encourage drilling for UK new oil and gas is reckless and immoral. There can be no greater crime. 

Of course, the politicians planning to max out the UK’s oil and gas reserves are not directly seeking mass death, neither are those executives signing off on plans to drill for new oil and gas or finance and insure new oil exploration. The primary aim of their support for fossil fuels is profit and power. To them, it’s an inconvenient side effect that millions and eventually billions of people will die when carbon emissions from new oil and gas cause heat waves, drought and crop failure.

But under International Criminal Law, this is no mere side effect: it is murder by oblique intent. Under Article 30 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, death or harm doesn’t have to be a primary intention for someone to be held criminally responsible. They simply have to be ‘aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events’.

Since 2021 when the International Energy Agency (“IEA”) declared that there could be no new oil, gas or coal if we want an even chance of limiting global temperature rise in line with the Paris Agreement, it has been abundantly clear that new oil and gas will lead to mass death. 

In 2022 you received a dossier of evidence requesting you investigate and charge five top British politicians for crimes against humanity and genocide. You have declined to do so.

We say to you now that you already have all the evidence you need to prosecute those politicians and to launch an investigation into those executives signing off on plans to drill for new oil and gas or to finance and insure new oil exploration. If you are uncertain who they are, Just Stop Oil will be publishing a list on Sunday 29th October to assist in your enquiries.

Failure to act will force Just Stop Oil into full non-compliance with the police and judicial system and we will remain in civil resistance until such time as you launch an investigation and bring charges.  

As Metropolitan Police Commissioner you promised to police “without favour or prejudice”. We are asking you now to uphold your oath and uphold the law: it is a matter of life and death.

Respectfully yours,

Just Stop Oil

Continue ReadingJust Stop Oil deliver an Open Letter to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley

Just Stop Oil forcibly removed from the Home Affairs Committee whilst eight arrested outside parliament

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A Just Stop Oil protest in central London
A Just Stop Oil protest in central London

Just Stop Oil supporters have been forcibly removed from the Houses of Parliament where they were attending the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into the policing of public protests during the Coronation. Just Stop Oil is demanding an end to all new oil, gas and coal projects in the UK.

At around 10:30 am, five of the 19 Just Stop Oil supporters, who were wrongfully arrested on the 6th May, were ejected from the Home Affairs Committee inquiry after one of them attempted to speak. The supporters were wearing the same t-shirts they wore on Coronation Day, which prompted the police to arrest them for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. 

Dr Kush Naker, 33, a doctor of infectious diseases from London, began to read their prepared statement: “We, as supporters of Just Stop Oil, are here today because our democracy is under threat…” however, he was unable to finish before all five were forcibly removed from the committee. One Just Stop Oil supporter could be heard saying “we should not have been arrested for wearing t-shirts,” as she was ejected from the hearing.

Meanwhile, outside Parliament, eight supporters of Just Stop Oil were being arrested for peacefully marching in Parliament Square after a section 12 public order notice was issued earlier.

The Home Affairs committee has invited evidence from policing representatives, the anti-monarchy group Republic and human rights lawyer Adam Wagner. However, no invite has been extended to Just Stop Oil, despite supporters of the campaign making up over a third of those wrongfully arrested on Coronation Day. 

Just Stop Oil has presented a written submission of evidence about the day’s events that can be read here. The committee has responded to advise it will ‘not be formally accepting written evidence.’

A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said:

“This is a continuation of the silencing of legitimate dissent we saw at the Coronation. The Metropolitan Police baselessly arrested doctors, lecturers, students and electricians, simply for possessing flags and t-shirts. This is clearly politically motivated and represents a massive overreach by the police. No evidence has been provided and now those wrongfully arrested are being prevented from giving evidence to the very committee that has been organised to assess the policing during the coronation.”

“The world is watching in horror at what has become of our once proud British democracy. This government, against all available scientific information, is pursuing an agenda of opening new oil, gas and coal projects, during a climate crisis that threatens the lives of hundreds of millions of people. This silencing of those opposed to these genocidal policies is not going unnoticed by the young, who will be overseeing the climate trials of the future. Those who facilitated and co-operated with these criminal acts will be held to account for the crime of genocide.” 

Continue ReadingJust Stop Oil forcibly removed from the Home Affairs Committee whilst eight arrested outside parliament

Police Protest Clampdown How the Met Arrested a Non-Violent Training Group

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https://bylinetimes.com/2023/05/15/police-protest-clampdown-how-the-met-arrested-a-non-violent-training-group/

There was a van waiting outside. One of the activists waved to the man in the driving seat. They didn’t think there was anything to worry about then; not ‘nothing to hide, nothing to fear’ but close. They knew that what was planned for the group entering the meeting space in Haggerston, five miles away from the Coronation route, had nothing to do with King Charles III or his cavalcade of self-congratulation.

The members of Animal Rising, the direct-action group that advocates animal rights and plant-based foods, had a training session planned. They were going to learn more about non-violent protest action. 

But the Metropolitan Police was more interested in violent anti-protest action. The women and non-binary people in the meeting space had just made cups of tea and coffee and sat down in a circle to introduce themselves when the police arrived. It was roughly 10.30 am and 20 officers stormed in.

The officers told the group that they had intelligence that Just Stop Oil planned to disrupt the Coronation and pointed to leaflets, and paint used for screenprinting as ‘proof’.  Most of the Animal Rising activists were cuffed but they had to wait about an hour for a police bus to arrive.

They were then held for three hours in the police bus before being processed at the police station and then spent a further nine hours in custody before being released under investigation but not charged. It was after midnight when the women were back on the streets, far from where they had begun the previous day. 

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https://bylinetimes.com/2023/05/15/police-protest-clampdown-how-the-met-arrested-a-non-violent-training-group/

Continue ReadingPolice Protest Clampdown How the Met Arrested a Non-Violent Training Group