Eyewitness: four London protests and no disorder 

Chris Hobbs attends the latest round of Palestine Action and other protests in the capital.

Last Saturday saw, once again, a wave of protests in many major cities across Europe with thousands taking to the streets leading to outbreaks of disorder, attacks on police and looting.

London, however, was much more sedate with four protest type events taking place in the centre which also hosted the annual submariners Remembrance Day; this resulted in very visible, smartly turned- out naval personal being frequently asked to pose for photos by tourists.

My first port of call was to an environmental gathering in Whitehall just around the corner from the Department of Energy, Security and Net Zero. The objective was to protest against the utilisation of the Rosebank oil field and around 200 very jolly protesters were effectively led by a conductor who orchestrated a variety of chants.

This good natured, but very determined protest provided yet another photo opportunity for tourists and was watched over by four police officers including two members of the police liaison team.

Deaths ‘at the hands of the State’

A short walk to Trafalgar Square saw another protest organised by the United Family and Friends and the Justice for Chris Kaba campaigns. Other organisations gave their support to the overall theme which concerned those who died ‘at the hands of the state.’ On the fringe of Trafalgar Square, a screen attached to a lorry featured photos who those had died over the years.

The main thrust of protest was, predictably, directed against the police. Advance publicity very much focussed on the fact that 1,983 persons had died in or following police contact since 1990 with 1,242 deaths taking placed whilst the individual was in police custody.

Those who wish to place these figures in context, would doubtless point to the large number of arrests made by officers; each arrest is, by definition, an act of force.

Records reportedly show that ‘arrests peaked’ at 1.5, million in 2008 while the annual figures are now just over 650,000. Serving and retired officers are quick to point out that many individuals arrested have issues related to alcohol, drugs and/or mental health while others are, quite simply, extremely violent by nature.

Despite the issues, the mood of the 400 or so protesters was cheerful and relaxed with no hostility being shown to the two police liaison officers who were present, one of whom was black. The march to Downing Street was certainly going to be well stewarded and whilst I left before the march commenced, there were no reports of any issues.

I then made my way to the third protest of the day which had already gained significant levels of publicity. The protest group, ‘Defend our Juries’ together with other pro-Palestinian organisations had decided to take their protest against the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group, to the US Embassy.

Palestine Action Arrest 2

The US Embassy Palestine protest

On my arrival, I expected to find that, as with other protests, participants would have assembled along sections of the Nine Elms Road. In fact, protesters, doubtless with the blessing of the Met, had gathered ‘off the beaten track’ in front of the Embassy itself doubtless to the interest the residents of the upmarket apartments which are prevalent in the area. Protesters, police and the legions of journalists and photographers could also avail themselves of equally upmarket local coffee shops.

It soon became clear that this was a hugely resource intensive policing operation with numerous police carriers clearly visible. What also became readily apparent was the fact that the overwhelming majority of those clutching home-made ‘Palestine Action’ placards were of pensionable age.

Met officers began the extraction of the protesters with great care and consideration as is usual. The biggest risk of injury throughout the afternoon occurred during the rugby scrum of photographers that accompanied each arrest which normally required four to five officers where the prisoner opted to be carried to the awaiting transport.

One small protest group staged an exhibition that involved a ‘victim’ of war in the form of a mannequin which, to the amusement of officers, photographers, journalists and protesters, had to be dismantled and carried away by police.

Arrest totals and the future

The Met had also earlier announced a ‘Section 35’ order which meant that individuals had to leave a specified area at or risk arrest when told to do so by an officer. It was thought that this might apply to all those arrested rather than the more draconian terror legislation but in fact the intention was to deal with those who might materialise and encourage others to commit offences. In fact, the Met later announced that of the 325 arrests made, 320 were under the provision of the Terrorism Act.

As the afternoon wore on, photographers, journalists and spectators began to drift away as did I, happy in the knowledge that no officer I spoke to revealed the result of the Chelsea v Manchester United match played earlier in the day.

The fourth London based event was a ‘Street March and Protest for persecuted Christians’ which began at the Iranian Embassy and moved on to the Canadian, Nigerian and Indian High Commissions. There were no reported incidents although social media footage showed the attendance of a group from the Patriotic Platform.

Although other protests will be taking place in the interim, focus is now very much on Friday the 20th of November when certain elements are clearly focussed on replicating events that are currently being seen across Europe.
 
Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer who follows protests for Police Oracle as an observer.

Category: Public Order