Saturday duty: an arrest sparks disorder

Chris Hobbs attends a seemingly uneventful protest in which a police arrest produced a familiar pattern of mobile phone filming and disorder.

The day covering events, including protests in central London, did not go as planned. I intended to have a quick look at a couple of what I believed would be small, uneventful protests before spending much of my time within the Pride footprint as I did last year.

The first visit of the day was to Barclays Bank on the Charing Cross Road which receives attention from pro-Palestinians on Saturday’s when there is no national protest. This branch is due to permanently close later in the year in any event and those who are protesting at the bank’s links to Israel, normally march down from Mornington Crescent in Camden.

On this occasion, numbers were well down from previous protests to the extent that I wondered whether reinforcements had still to arrive from Camden. A walk towards Camden revealed no further protest groups and the protesters eventually packed up their placards and dispersed.

Next on the list was the Kenyan High Commission, which had seen protests in the week following events in Nairobi which resulted in several deaths. Despite the fact that demands for the resignation of the Kenyan President had not been met, the High Commission was devoid of any activity, inside and out.

The Congo protest

The next protest concerned the situation in the troubled Congo which includes clashes between rival military factions, terrible crimes including the rape of thousands of women and the exploitation of children whose labour is used to extract the minerals which effectively power our current technology, notably mobile phones and laptops. These issues at previous peaceful protests, resulted in Regent Street’s Apple store being targeted as it’s a short walk from the protesters meeting point at Oxford Circus.

On this occasion, the gathering appeared small but the arrival of some pro-Palestinian protesters inflated numbers to around 60. They were watched by two local female officers and several ‘street security’ officers who can usually be seen patrolling the shopping areas in and around Oxford Street.

After some chanting, which included comment on the situations in both Gaza and the Congo, the group set off across Oxford Circus towards Apple. The above- mentioned security officers also moved and, outside Apple, formed a protective cordon across the doors to prevent any incursion.  The two above-mentioned police officers duly followed the protesters.

Outside the Apple store, which continued to trade, a loudspeaker system was set up and speeches commenced which were interspersed by chanting. On previous occasions, after a short pause outside Apple, protesters continued, via Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square to Downing Street. On this occasion, perhaps due to the huge Pride march, these protesters opted to remain outside Apple.

The two police officers who had followed the group, were then diverted into a nearby Japanese clothing and footwear store to deal with an incident there. After having dealt with whatever had occurred, the two officers then attempted to ensure the safety of those walking in the road to bypass the protest as, although traffic had been halted from Oxford Circus to Piccadilly, it was running in the opposite direction.

The arrival of a double-crewed local response vehicle enabled those two officers to have a short break. Interestingly the driver of the vehicle was soon engaged in a conversation with an irate male member of the public who was clearly annoyed that any such protest was taking place at all. The officer was the epitome of patient diplomacy in his responses to the extent that the irate male instigated a handshake at the end of the conversation.

The two officers returned and the response crew remained which was the signal for me to take a comfort break at the John Lewis store, a five- minute walk away. On my return, at the junction with Regent Street, I could hear the repeated chant of ‘Let her go.’ It was clear that there had been an incident.

An arrest and disorder

As I approached the protest through a sea of now interested spectators, it was clear that the atmosphere had soured and that an arrest had been made. It later transpired that two females had approached the protesters. On apparently seeing Palestinian flags, one produced an Israeli flag from her bag and openly displayed it which resulted in a fracas with the protesters and a female was arrested as the four aforementioned officers rushed into the crowd.

This crowd predictably became hostile towards the officers and the street security officers moved commendably swiftly to form a protective cordon around the officers and their prisoner. More officers had arrived and the familiar tactic of a ‘protective bubble,’ was implemented.

The crowd had rapidly morphed from a law-abiding group of protesters into something akin to a mob. More vehicles on ‘blues and two’s’ arrived as it became clear that the crowd’s anger was, in part, due to the fact that the female prisoner was just 15. The additional officers meant that the security officers were ‘stood down,’ but remained to ensure the security of the Apple store.

The question for the two inspectors, who were amongst the additional officers, was the extraction of their 15-year-old prisoner through a hostile crowd and before that could be achieved a prisoner van had to arrive. The scene mirrored to a certain extent, a scenario outside Hammersmith Police Station just days earlier when a 17-year-old male was propelled away from the scene of yet another protest by an officer. ‘He’s just a child,’ was the cry that could be observed across social media from those seemingly oblivious of a litany of appalling crimes committed by children far younger which, incidentally, appear to be increasing in frequency.

‘Racist police’

As the indignant protest against the arrest continued, surprisingly, as the girl was white, sections of the crowd introduced a race element. Chants of ‘racist police off our streets,’ could be heard and individual screams of ‘racists,’ were directed against officers, frequently by those armed with megaphones. One female loudly proclaimed through her megaphone that police had ‘murdered’ 2,000 individuals who had been ‘in custody.’

A police prisoner van eventually materialised and, using the ‘bubble,’ tactic the girl was duly extracted. It seems that she wasn’t, in fact, removed to a custody suite but taken home with a decision to be taken at a later date as to whether any formal action would be taken.

That, however, wasn’t the end of events. A further scuffle took place by a police transit van and another arrest made; it would appear of a black male followed by, I believe, a third arrest.

After those extractions, the situation then calmed down with interested spectators and protesters drifting away. Once again, there were complaints of ‘heavy-handed’ policing which, once again, ignored the fact that if a similar scenario was repeated in many European countries, batons would almost certainly been produced and used together with cans of pepper spray and perhaps even tear gas and water cannon.

Enquiries later revealed that the street security personnel who assisted police are employed by the New West End Company who represent the interests of more than 600 businesses across the West End, most of which are retail. There is close cooperation with the Met and Westminster Council and part of their remit is to support security staff employed by stores and shops.

At last Pride and a ‘good vibe’

As events on Regent Street concluded, I was able to make my way to the Pride event in Trafalgar Square. The procession was still in full flow and the crowds vast although not dangerously so. The event isn’t simply one for the LGBT community; it has a good ‘vibe;’ family friendly with a complete absence of tension.

The engagement between officers and those attending was excellent with police helping those in need, including a male who collapsed within the security zone that existed around the music event that took place in Trafalgar Square.

On the Elizabeth Line train home, a group of Indian ladies who had been to the Pride event and were also celebrating India’s World Cup cricket victory, entertained us all with a selection of popular songs from Bollywood movies.

Whilst the organisers and police must have been pleased with the Pride event, it wasn’t without controversial issues. Several Jewish organisations advised Jews to stay away from the event for their own safety. Personally, I only saw one Palestinian flag within the Pride footprint and that was along the Charing Cross Road just beyond Leicester Square.

The Met did disrupt plans by pro-Palestinian activists to disrupt the Pride procession. Some 33 individuals were arrested in Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank as they gathered prior to crossing the Thames. Their alleged intention was to target firms involved in the procession who had links with Israel.

If the Met commanders were pleased with the events of Saturday, they’ll be no resting on their laurels. A further national Palestinian march takes place in London on Saturday and looming at the end of the month is a Tommy Robinson rally and together with a Trans Pride march from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park which last year was well attended despite heavy rain. The Tommy Robinson rally is also scheduled for the same day in Trafalgar Square but well after the Trans Pride marchers have left.

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

Category: OpsPublic Order