Public order concerns spread after the Southport tragedy

Chris Hobbs recaps a busy few days of demonstrations held in the aftermath of a major incident on Monday which saw a 17-year-old attack a dance class in the town of Southport.

I’m still not quite sure why I woke from my ‘sofa slumber’ at that precise moment but as my vision focused on the TV, I was bewildered to see scenes of serious violence directed against police officers. I was even more bewildered to see Southport running across the bottom of the screen.

I was, of course, only too well aware of the almost beyond words tragedy that had befallen the town with the savage murder of three innocents and the attempted murder of others but struggled to comprehend the link to a riot.

Eventually, the penny dropped and my next thought was for the grieving families who would be wondering how their anguish they were suffering had led to these extreme levels of violence targeted at both police and Muslims.

The mother of one of the victims made her feelings clear but it has had little effect on the those who fomented disorder elsewhere including Hartlepool, London, Aldershot and Manchester.

Little wonder that the Prime Minister had called for a meeting of police chiefs, doubtless concerned that this could be the spark of a 2011 scenario. Whether the result of this meeting is simply another ‘soundbite’ remains to be seen.

The police casualty figures for Southport were shocking; 39 were treated by ambulance crews and 27 of those ended up in hospital, with the total of injured officers exceeding 50.

One piece of footage went viral on social media where a rioter, glad in a grey tracksuit, was reeling having been struck by a missile before being struck a second time in the groin to the delight of many.

However, an extended version of this clip showed officers in their ‘day’ uniforms facing a horrendous barrage of missiles from rioters, many of whom could be seen clearly enjoying the experience. Hopefully they will find less enjoyment from being woken up at five in the morning as police identify and track down the miscreants.

In normal circumstances, those officers would have been entitled to withdraw but they would also have been aware that the small, innocuous local Mosque, already a target, would have been overrun and quite probably raised to the ground; the potential fate of its terrified occupants doesn’t bear thinking about.

Also, at risk would have been the crime scene itself and the memorial area where hundreds of floral and teddy-bear tributes had been laid.

Eventually, some officers with protective equipment arrived but reinforcements had also to be sent from neighbouring forces.

Jenni Stancombe, the mother of seven- year- old victim Elsie Stancombe, made this appeal:

“This is the only thing I will write but please stop in Southport tonight. The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.’

‘Enough is enough’ disorder spreads

That appeal was lost on the thugs and, indeed on the thousands across social media who at worst, subsequently applauded the rioters or attempted to justify their actions with little thought for the innocent victims of this brutal murder or their families.

The sentiments behind the appeal were also lost by the following day as patriotic ‘enough is enough’ protesters took the streets. In Hartlepool, shocking video emerged which showed a person of colour attempting to walk past a group and being punched in the face.

Reports stated that Mosques in Hartlepool were protected by officers as missiles were thrown and a police car set on fire. Mosques and indeed Muslims in many parts of the country where they are a very much a minority, must be feeling very uneasy indeed.

Aldershot and Manchester also saw incidents linked to Southport and the mantra was again ‘enough is enough.’

Whitehall disorder

After their well-organised, well-stewarded and largely incident free protest on Saturday together with an incident free, ‘short notice’ protest on Sunday linked to the detention of Tommy Robinson, there were hopes that these attributes would be repeated on Wednesday with an inevitable ‘enough is enough’ central London protest linked to Southport.

Alas the vagaries of the Elizabeth Line struck again and I, with others, were stuck behind a broken-down goods train which meant that I missed the start of the protest. Whilst sitting there, other passengers must have been intrigued by my response to a call which told me that the event had ‘begun to kick-off.’

The Met had imposed conditions familiar to many organisations who wish to stage a Downing Street protest. A barriered- off area directly opposite the iconic street in front of the Ministry of Defence building and car park is normally allocated at a matter of routine and forms part of the conditions imposed by police which can now be enforced by virtue of statute.

It would seem this didn’t suit the protesters, who forced their way past police into the road which eventually had to be closed. It was during this period that officers were pelted with bottles, cans, missiles and flares. Missiles and flares were also thrown over the gates of Downing Street. Such was nature of the disorder that officers had to don protective ‘NATO’ helmets.

A number of protesters then went down to the Winston Churchill statue; flares were lit and bottles thrown, although I doubt there was any intention to desecrate the statue itself: Those attending a nearby pro-Ukrainian protest suffered abuse.

By the time I arrived, there were numerous police carriers in and around Whitehall and numerous serials of officers in formation dotted around. I followed one serial as it marched down Whitehall towards Downing Street. A number of protesters were back in the designated area hurling abuse at police. A bottle thrown at officers just missed a female photographer before it smashed on the floor.

Another hostile group were situated opposite the Cenotaph and periodically arrests were made. To the uninitiated the arrests may have seemed random but a number were the result of CCTV observations or those by officers or for breach of Section 14 conditions imposed on the protest.

The group opposite Downing Street were hemmed in by a cordon of officers but suddenly decided to make a break for it and in a swirl of activity pushed their through and, pursued by officers, ran along the grassed area past the Montgomery and Viscount Slim statues before inexplicably halting as if waiting to see what happens next.

Returning to the group opposite the Cenotaph there were brief skirmishes as arrests were made which were later to be billed as examples of ‘police brutality.’

The Met commanders had now decided, to quote the current phrase used by protesters, that ‘enough was enough.’ One line of police pushed a group of protesters back towards Parliament Square. Other lines of officers pushed up Whitehall to move those on the grassed area back into the road. The push continued towards Trafalgar Square with one protester clutching a megaphone taunting the police continuously.

Near the top of Whitehall, police halted but attempts to open Whitehall to traffic were briefly stalled when a protester dragged no entry signs back into the middle of the road temporarily halting traffic turning left into Whitehall.

In all five officers were injured with 111 arrests being made. Fifty of those arrests were not taken into custody but details were obtained so that possible future prosecutions or other action could be considered.

 

Deputy Commissioner Lynne Ownes posted the following in explanation:

“Conditions were in place, warnings given & arrests made if not complied with. Offences of violent disorder were observed by officers & on CCTV which led to arrests. The investigatory & any necessary court processes follow.”

Aftermath

Predictably, the morning saw social media full of allegations of ‘police brutality’ and ‘two-tier’ policing. Having attended just about every significant pro-Palestine protest since October the 7^th, such claims are far from accurate.

Those protests which have occurred since October the 7^th cannot begin to compare with the level of hostility we saw on Wednesday night. Even when in close proximity to pro-Israeli counter-protesters, there has been little physical violence to the credit of both groups.

There have been well documented issues away from the main Palestine Solidarity Campaign protest including where a force mobilisation was required at a mid-week ‘emergency protest,’ but again there were few scuffles and few missiles.

Those labelling arrests in Whitehall as arbitrary and an example of ‘two-tier’ policing might well be challenged by Youth Demand activists who were arrested before the State Opening of Parliament whilst merely sitting on the grass in Victoria Embankment Gardens after social media claims that they would disrupt the State Opening of Parliament.

Allegations of cowardice accompany allegations of ‘two-tier’ policing based on events in Harehills when officers withdrew. At the risk of repeating myself, the first footage illustrating ‘cowardice’ showed Leeds response officers fleeing to their vehicles when faced with a mob which would have overwhelmed them. They were not equipped to face a mob and had achieved their objective of extricating their colleagues and social workers involved in taking Roma children into care.

Three carriers of public order trained officers also withdrew; again, footage showed them withdrawing from a large mob. Decisions to withdraw in such circumstance may be down to senior commanders as will any decision to re-enter a riot torn are. Police critics will still however, collectively smear all officers as cowards.

Harehills will be thrown in the faces of officers by some on the far-right and keyboard warriors for months to come and will doubtless ignore the acts of bravery that appear within social media on a regular basis.

This Saturday sees another major pro-Palestine march and rally and probable counter-protest by pro-Israeli supporters. Met public order commanders will be anxiously scanning social media for any other ‘enough is enough’ gathering in central London.

Ominously, ‘enough is enough’ protests are being held at various venues across the country which will doubtless involve police leave being cancelled.

The National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) will also be fully activated in case ‘mutual aid’ is required whereby forces ask for assistance from their neighbours if they are struggling to maintain order.

Final note

Three women who attended the protest politely asked officers outside Downing Street if they could lay some flowers in tribute to the three young Southport victims. Officers duly assisted.

Main picture: Matt Capon