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Eyewitness: policing protest after the Manchester synagogue attack
Chris Hobbs observes another tricky public order operation in the capital following last week's terrible events.
In the shadow of the Panorama programme the Met, with all of its officers now effectively collectively smeared, were very much in the spotlight again as public order events dominated the week and drained the Met’s coffers still further.
The main event, just days after the deadly Manchester terrorist attack which targeted a synagogue, was another Palestine Action linked protest in Trafalgar Square. The organisers refused pleas by the Met amongst others, to call of the rally which was designed to ensure the arrest of those who showed support for the proscribed terror group by means of a placard, banner or visible slogans on clothing.
According to one well -placed journalist, the decision to continue with this event was not unanimous with, buried in the depths of the web, many pro-Palestinian activists expressing the view that this event should not take place.
Nevertheless, as 1pm approached, those offering themselves up for arrest, began sitting down and writing up their placards which would inevitably result in their apprehension. They were to be encouraged by those who were there to support but opted, for whatever reason, not to be arrested themselves.
At the last ‘arrest me’ event in Parliament Square, a Palestine Solidarity Committee march ended with a rally in nearby Whitehall. This meant that hundreds ignored the rally and carried on to Parliament Square which resulted in clashes with police and arrests for assaulting officers.
A well-oiled machine
On this occasion, police mainly had to endure chants and abuse as they began to remove seated protesters. Lessons had clearly been learned from previous Palestine Action protests and the whole policing operation resembled that of a well-oiled machine. The Trafalgar Square roadway by the Canada High Commission was sealed off and this was extended to a section of Trafalgar Square by Cockspur Street. Prisoners were escorted to that location, given a cursory search and placed in a police carrier. Every so often, the barrier at the junction with Cockspur Street was removed and a fleet of carriers complete with prisoners would leave for a ‘processing’ destination.
Once again, the elderly were treated with great care, consideration and respect by Met officers who clearly would have much preferred to have been performing duty somewhere else. Most arrests were accompanied by a crowd consisting of journalists and protesters with the latter applauding the arrestees and chanting ‘shame on you’ at police.
Officers targeted
One unsavoury aspect of these protests has been the targeting of officers because of their ethnicity and this was evidenced on Saturday when a female officer was targeted by a male placard carrying protester. The officer responded by saying nothing and simply impassively staring ahead; eventually the exasperated male walked off to make a nuisance of himself elsewhere.
The presence of the ‘Thin Blue Line’ patch auditor was also noted as the event commenced. Whilst he doesn’t appear to have captured any officer sporting the illicit patch, he began baiting officers at an early stage. He was later captured on several occasions, by a social media documentary maker attempting to provoke officers. The documentary was extremely well produced and also captured the aftermath of an incident when the auditor suffered a cut head and was forced to accept the assistance of officers in getting it treated. There was no suggestion that the police were involved.
In fact, the number of those arrested quickly reduced and the large unoccupied areas of Trafalgar Square grew even larger. The usual pro-Israeli inserts were absent and there was no counter-protest. Tommy Robinson’s number two appeared again and was, on one occasion, escorted away from the ‘prisoner processing’ section by police to chants of ‘Nazi scum off our streets.’
Interestingly, he was later shown during a well-produced social media documentary of the day’s events, being visibly moved as he was introduced to a large banner showing images of dead children who had perished during the Gaza conflict.
Another male, draped in a Union Jack, was followed by a crowd until police intervened but shouted advice to ‘leave him alone, that’s what he wants,’ were heeded by angry protesters.
Whitehall disorder
As proceedings were winding down in Trafalgar Square, I made my way to Downing Street. On the previous Thursday, unbeknown to me, a pro-Palestine protest took place as a reaction to the ‘Greta Thunberg flotilla’ being intercepted by the Israeli navy. This protest not only caught me unawares but also the Met. The volatile crowd at one stage forced their way through a police line and forty arrests were made including six for assaulting police.
According to the above- mentioned journalist, the same individuals intended to stage another protest in Whitehall opposite Downing Street. As I walked down, I could see one Palestine flag and a small group; however, numbers quickly grew and this group were reinforced by some who had walked down from Trafalgar Square.
Suddenly, the group, now numbering around 300, moved from the usual protest area opposite Downing Street into the road effectively blocking half of it. It looked as if the Met had been caught unawares as the unruly crowd began walking up towards Trafalgar Square. However, the reaction of police was rapid and effective.
Officers ‘kitted’ in ‘riot gear’ suddenly appeared and with carriers, formed a cordon across the road. The crowd hesitated before turning around and walking back along Whitehall towards Parliament Square. As they approached the Cenotaph, ‘kitted’ officers suddenly appeared from King Charles Street while carriers drove up from Parliament Square and disgorged more ‘kitted’ officers.
A cordon was quickly established and the protesters effectively were contained between the two cordons. The crowd then attempted to use the same tactics that were successful the previous Thursday and push their way through the police line. They failed and retreated back to their original designated protest area.
There they were allowed to hold a meeting complete with speeches, but the protest was watched over by a significant number of officers. At the end of the meeting, an attempt to take to the road and walk up towards Trafalgar Square was easily foiled by officers. Dispersal soon followed and a successful day was complete.
Earlier in the day, word had begun to circulate that officers from visiting forces had been deployed to police London’s football matches with the assistance of DFO’s (Dedicated Football Officers) and others familiar with the club’s policing operation. PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) officers in their distinctive green uniforms were given the task of policing Millwall versus West Bromwich Albion. Quite what the fans made of the PSNI contingent and vice-versa may never be known but the match passed off without incident.
The Jewish commemoration rally
As events on the Saturday were concluding, the Met’s attention turned to the Sunday rally in Trafalgar Square which was organised by a number of Jewish groups in order to commemorate the 7th of October massacre and indeed the Manchester terror attack just days previously.
Security was predictably tight and concerns that pro-Palestinian groups may appear proved unfounded. The event was, for the most part, emotive but finished, as Jewish, pro-Israeli events normally do, with traditional songs and dancing.
The Pink Ladies
The other notable event that took place on the preceding Tuesday occurred when the Epping Pink Ladies and supporters staged an anti-migrant/protect our children protest took place opposite Downing Street. The pink ladies were supported by a number of males complete with union and St. George’s flags. On the opposite footway an anti-racist counter-protest took place where Diane Abbott and Patsy Stevenson were amongst the speakers. Their protest finished before that of their rivals; the pink ladies gathering concluded with a disco before they marched, on the footway, to Parliament where they attempted to hold another rally. However, a ‘section 14’ was imposed, and the group dispersed with the Epping Pink Ladies singing ‘you can stick your section 14 up your ar*e’ as they made their way to Westminster Station.
Stop Press; Events of the 7th of October
There was both concern and anger at the Trafalgar Square protest referred to above due to its proximity to the 7th of October and this escalated to fury due to plans by, primarily students, to protest on the actual anniversary of the massacre.
In the event, despite edited footage on various news channels which suggested large turnouts of protesters, the reality of the day would have disappointed organisers and suggested that for many who support the Palestinian cause, this was nevertheless a bridge too far.
The march that began at Kings College and whose route took them past other universities, remained on the footway as directed with numbers between two and three hundred. It was vocal but complaint and even the predictable appearance of two ‘inserts;’ one of whom was draped in an Israeli flag, saw some shouted abuse but no violence.
After this march concluded, attention turned to the BBC where the Met had been told that a second protest would take place. In fact, although police were present in numbers, protesters were not there at all. A further protest later took place at Downing Street but barely 50 pro-Palestinians materialised.
During that protest, news came through that pro-Palestinian protesters had ‘taken over,’ Kings Cross station. This action clearly caught the Met and British Transport Police unawares but the numbers were not great and police carriers made the short journey from central London. Once officers had arrived, the situation was quicky brought under control.
Whilst the Met may, justifiably, congratulate itself on further successful public order operations, further challenges await with yet another major Palestinian Solidarity Committee march and rally this Saturday. Meanwhile the debate begins as to whether some form of legislation is needed to restrict the number of protests.
Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer who follows public order events as an observer for Police Oracle.
Category: Public Order
