Eyewitness: a relatively ‘Q’ word day for the Met despite ongoing ‘gender wars’

Chris Hobbs attends a protest organsied by women's groups and rival Trans activists.

The Met could, perhaps, have been forgiven for just viewing a planned protest and counter protest in central London with a degree of apprehension. The protest was linked to the fact that it was 199 days since a landmark decision by the Supreme Court which stated that the definition of “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex, not legal sex; this has implications for single-sex spaces.

The protest was in respect of the fact that the government has not incorporated this decision into law while the trans and pro-trans counter-protesters object to the original decision.

In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict, trans and pro-trans activists and supporters caught the Met by surprise when they staged a large demonstration that filled Parliament Square and spilled over into the adjacent roads.

Women’s groups and rival Trans activists raise their voices

On Saturday, the women’s groups and their supporters met in Parliament Square, while pro-Trans activists gathered a short distance away in the grassed area of Victoria Embankment Gardens in front of the Ministry of Defence. Participants were instructed to wear masks and not to talk to police but if the organisers hoped for similar numbers to the above-mentioned Parliament Square rally, they were to be disappointed with a turnout of around 400. Their intention, however, was clear; they intended to march the short distance to Parliament Square and disrupt the ‘199’ rally.

As the pro-Trans activists were holding their own opening pre-march rally, word came through to Met officers that conditions had been imposed; these stated that the pro-Trans group had to stay within the grassed area which they currently occupied.

Inevitably the participants decided to test police resolve and whilst the grassed area was surrounded by a 4-foot-high wall, there were exits and the pro-Trans group marched as a body towards one of them before being halted by a cordon of police.

There was no attempt to push through the cordon and after a short while, the group marched across the grass towards another exit which was just a few yards away from New Scotland Yard. Once again, that was blocked by police and there was no attempt to breach the cordon as TSG officers emerged from their carriers and waited patiently in reserve.

Proceedings were enlivened by the appearance of several ‘inserts’ from the right of the political spectrum but there was no violence; indeed, the interactions were remarkably good natured.

The 199 group take to the streets

Unbeknown to the Trans counter-protesters, the 199 group were not just holding a rally but intended to march and march they did; along the Embankment, by the river but within sight of their trans rivals on the opposite side of the road.

Surprisingly, their numbers of the ‘199’ activists and supporters were greater than those of their rivals but as they began marching past, there was an inevitable reaction from the Trans group, most of whom ran across the grass to hurl abuse at the mainly female marchers.

Several were clearly intent of clambering over the wall in order to physically intimidate and perhaps attack those who were parading past them on the opposite side of the road.

The march on the opposite side of the road continued and, as commented on by several observers, rather resembled that of a good-natured women’s institute outing.

Just as the rear of the march was passing there was a scuffle and one masked individual was pinned down on the footway. It took more than twenty minutes for prisoner transport to arrive and indeed the issue of the availability of prisoner transport has occurred during a number of previous protests.

Once the march was out of sight, the trans group held another meeting and about an hour later, the police relaxed their cordons and the activists dispersed without further issue.

The Animal Rights march

There was another march on the day which I hoped to catch up with but never quite managed it until it reached its destination. The annual Animal Rights march drew several thousand activists and supporters and after a circular march around central London, ended with a party at Marble Arch where there was music and dancing. Clearly relations between marchers and police had been extremely cordial.

Another emergency Gaza protest

Two days before the above- mentioned marches, pro-Palestinian activists called for another ‘emergency’ demonstration opposite Downing Street after a breakdown in the Gaza ceasefire resulted in a number of civilian deaths. Numbers, however, were down on previous emergency protests.

The speeches were as impassioned as ever but then we saw a repeat of the peculiar phenomenon where another more youthful group gathers within sight and sound of the stage and, with the aid of drums, begins chanting as if to drown out those speaking.

Although there were no conditions imposed in respect of a finish time, at 8PM everything stopped and the protesters dispersed without incident.

Attention, in the world of public order policing, will now shift to Birmingham where a large policing operation will take place on Thursday due to the controversy surrounding the Aston Villa versus Maccabi Tel Aviv Europa League match.

Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer who follows public order events as an observer for Police Oracle.