The Met successfully negotiate a challenging day

Chris Hobbs attends three big rival protests in London which were billed as potential flashpoints but went off without major incident.

.Tourists emerging from their hotels in central London on Saturday morning could have been forgiven for wondering exactly what they had stepped out into. Clearly visible parked on the streets were rows of police carriers and not just those from London’s Metropolitan Police; officers could be found from other forces including Staffordshire and Devon and Cornwall.

The reality was simply that groups of consisting of individuals with diametrically opposing views were taking to the streets amidst fears that if they clashed, serious disorder could well escalate into full scale rioting.

Marching from Victoria Station to Parliament Square were supporters of Tommy Robinson under the banner of ‘Unite the Kingdom’ which also including the theme of ‘we want our country back.

Opposing them were a mixture of anti-racist organisations and trade unions and they would be marching from Piccadilly to the Trafalgar Square end of Whitehall. Also scheduled for the same day was the annual protest against deaths in police custody together with other deaths at the hands of the state. This protest was supported by Black Lives Matter. This protest was later to merge seamlessly with the anti-racist protest.

This scenario was complicated by the death in prison of Peter Lynch; convicted of violent disorder during the Rotherham riot, the acquittal of the police officer who shot dead Chris Kaba together with the arrest of Tommy Robinson. Mr Robinson was arrested under the Terrorism Act and bailed but then detained in respect of his pending contempt of court hearing. All the above were expected to raise tensions amongst the various factions.

Police tactics were simply to keep rival groups apart and for that reason there were numerous barriers and cordons of officers which, in turn, resulted in tourists and other visitors having to take long detours in order to explore central London.

Rival factions gather

Anti-racists assembling in and around Piccadilly were, predictably, watched over by police. Palestinian flags were clearly visible as were dozens of placards, many of which referred specifically to Tommy Robinson. Officers would have noted that a number of youths were masked although the days of black clad, masked and hooded Antifa groups seem to have faded away.

A short journey down to Victoria, saw a markedly different scene; the numbers were greater and the area was awash with Cross of St George and Union flags. About fifteen minutes from the scheduled start time, the huge group began to move along Victoria Street towards Parliament Square; ‘Kitted’ officers formed cordons across the side streets thus ensuring that marchers could not deviate from the route.

At opposite ends of Whitehall, stages had been established and together with barriers, these effectively ensured that one side simply could not see the other. At the Parliament Square end there was a large secondary screen which ensured everyone present could see what was occurring.

As thousands entered the square, a small group of rather bewildered anti-racists clutching a large banner, realised they were in the wrong place. They received some abuse from a few who recognised that this group had erred in terms of their navigation; those heckling were steered away by police while the handful of anti-racists were allowed out of ‘enemy territory’ by officers staffing one of the barriered cordons.

Fortunately, I too, made it through the barrier thanks to officers who were aware that I cover such events and I then made my way to the ‘opposing end.’ The main march from Piccadilly hadn’t yet arrived and numbers waiting for the rally to commence seemed relatively thin.

A degree of disorder

However, a movement amongst the crowd suggested that an incident was taking place and the familiar chant of ‘let her go’ suggested an arrest and so it proved. With their backs against the wall and hemmed in by a crowd were a group of police who had clearly made an arrest and were being jostled by the crowd.

Several missiles were thrown as other officers moved to assist. The situation was resolved when the female detained opted to provide her details and was released pending further enquiries. The crowd drifted away however, a few minutes later another situation was developing a short distance away at the top of the Mall.

Once again there was a jostling of police officers by a vociferous crowd as other officers rushed to assist. It was difficult to ascertain why the crowd was becoming hostile. It may have been that they thought that a prisoner was being detained nearby or it was an attempt to move down to where the opposing rally was being held in order to confront their rivals. That would have certainly been a one-sided confrontation but after a few minutes the crowd lost interest and drifted away.

Prominent in these exchanges with police were a number of masked youths who were, according to one experienced journalist, members of an anarchist group.

The next incident, dealt with by police, concerned the familiar grinning face of an Iranian dissident who supports Israel and frequently materialises in the middle of pro-Palestinian events with a placard that refers to Hamas. His objective appears to be to attract an assault as well as publicity but, on this occasion, he appeared to be, tongue in cheek, inviting the anti-racists to welcome him as a refugee. One of the frequently heard chants at these events is ‘say it loud, say it clear; refugees are welcome here.’

As many of the crowd clearly attend pro-Palestine protests, he was recognised but once again was shielded by police and steered away from the crowd, which although hostile, wasn’t threatening.

A short while later, another incident involving another Iranian dissident who had fled his home country as a child; he is a well- known acolyte of Tommy Robinson. After giving a well-received speech at the Tommy Robinson rally, he reportedly took a taxi and circumvented the large barriered area before re-appearing with two burly minders in the midst of the anti-racist rally. Unsurprisingly he was quickly recognised and followed by anti-racist protesters as he walked through the crowd.

Equally unsurprisingly the crowd was hostile chanting ‘Nazi scum off our streets’ and ‘police protect the fascists.’ Another chant was ‘follow your leader,’ with the response; ‘shoot yourself in the head,’ which is an apparent reference to Adolph Hitler.’ The object of the crowd’s attentions spent some time walking backwards, thus facing the crowd and grinning broadly whilst filming them with his mobile phone. Despite the furore, there was no attempt to assault him.

Police officers, alerted by the commotion, quickly moved in to provide an escort and protection.

Another group of officers quickly formed a cordon across the road; this allowed the individual in question, his minders and the escorting officers to pass through before closing ranks and halting the crowd in what was a textbook response to a tense situation.

Subsequently his social media post stated that ‘far-left communists threatened to shoot me’ before a reference to the above- mentioned Adolph Hitler chant; a further social media comment as to whether the Met would arrest those in the crowd for their threatening chants resulted in a predictable ‘pile on’ criticising the force. However, this individual did thank the Met for ‘rescuing’ him.

A number of speeches from the stage were, predictably and virulently anti-police with frequent references to Chris Kaba. These included an address by MP Diane Abbott. The rally ended sooner than expected and most left quickly, leaving the usual group ‘chant fest’ which largely focussed on Palestine.

Reflections

The pro-Israeli  individuals of Iranian origin referred to above have now made a habit of inserting themselves amongst rival protesters. This has become habitual during the Palestine protests; last week following a London pro-Palestine event in Trafalgar Square, one of the two proclaimed on social media that he was ‘still alive’ and underneath stated ‘I survived the Islamist mob after threats.’

This followed the familiar ‘insertion’ of the two plus a handful of other pro-Israeli counter-protesters into last week’s pro-Palestine protest in Trafalgar Square. In fact, as observed by other journalists present and myself, there was sporadic abuse but no serious threat to the small pro-Israeli group who were guarded by police officers and a line of pro-Palestinian stewards.

When protests, after the 7th of October massacre began, those on the pro-Israeli side who deliberately placed themselves amongst pro-Palestinians were forcibly marched off and detained. This seemed to result in contentious legal issues even allowing for the fact that an arrest for a Breach of the Peace is normally a straightforward affair. However, the ‘insertion’ of pro-Israeli counter-protesters amongst opposing ranks seems to have become enmeshed with an individual’s right to protest.

The police tactic now appears simply to allow them to stand amongst the opposition and protect them with officers. The Met generally works on the principle of separating potentially violent rival groups. This also applies to football matches; allowing West Ham and Spurs fans or Liverpool and Manchester United fans to mingle, would invite disaster.

Interestingly, at the last major pro-Palestinian march in London, pro-Israeli counter-protesters were grouped behind barriers near the Aldwych when a small group of Palestinian activists managed to evade police and approach from the rear. Whether they intended to ‘insert themselves’ or possessed more sinister intentions may never be ascertained. Some of the pro-Israeli group rushed to challenge them and police quickly intervened.

On other occasions where pro-Israeli rallies have occurred and pro-Palestinians have been observed in their midst, police have been called and the individuals escorted from the scene or arrested. This happened in both Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square.

Doubtless each situation must be individually assessed by police commanders on their merits and thus far, just about every major Palestine-linked public order event has passed off without any significant disorder. There is, however, a feeling amongst seasoned observers that allowing these few to continue ‘inserting themselves’ could, at some stage, result in a damaging incident.

A further challenge to policing tactics, aside from the major protests, are the increasing activities of splinter groups. Palestine Action have already been involved in causing both damage and injury. Youth Demand managed, after the recent London pro-Palestine protest, to take police by surprise and block Tower Bridge for a short period of time.

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

Category: OpsPublic Order