After the events of the last few days, there are calls for the resignations of the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, and the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan. I don’t think anyone would be too upset if there were resignations but for anarchists, the problems of policing are not about individuals.
Tag: Protest
Cops shut down Westminster protest for Mohamud Hassan
Yesterday evening officers from the Met’s infamous Territorial Support Group shut down a protest called in memory of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, a 24 year old black man who died following police contact in Cardiff last Saturday. Using powers granted to them by the Health Protection regulations, officers moved quickly to disperse the assembly, issuing spot
Legal News Digest: Nov-Dec 2020
From the legislative war on sex workers to new rules governing criminal record disclosure, Carl Spender is here with a round-up of the last month’s legal news. On more than one occasion this year, I have lamented the never-ending game of catch-up I seem to be playing with the mutating provisions of the Health Protection
Government plans major crackdown on the right to protest
The Conservative government is planning to introduce major changes to public order legislation to crack down on protests, under a new “Protection of the Police and Public Bill” planned for 2021. In September, Home Secretary Priti Patel denounced environmental campaigners Extinction Rebellion as “so-called eco-crusaders turned criminals” at the Police Superintendents’ Association conference and, at
Lockdown 2: Are protests legal?
I’ll keep this brief, as whatever I say here will no doubt be out of date within a week. On Wednesday night, parliament approved The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 which legally enforces England’s second coronavirus lockdown. With respect to protest, the legislation is deeply confused and confusing, in that it
Legal: Do the new coronavirus restrictions make protests illegal?
Update 16/09/20 – Shortly after the article below was published, the government reduced the maximum size of (most) legal gatherings from 30 to 6. Nonetheless, the guidance it offers remains sound (so long as you remember to replace all references to “more than 30 people” with “more than 6”). That said, anyone seeking information on
Minicab drivers to block Tower Bridge to protest “tax on the poor” congestion charge
Minicab drivers are expected to block London Tower Bridge with their cars in protest against an increase in the congestion charge to £15 per day from 16 June 2020. The regressive congestion charge was introduced by Transport for London in April 2019 and now has been increased to £15 in accordance with TfL’s funding agreement
The bureaucratization of urban space and the need to reclaim our cities
City life, from its beginning, was all about uniting people that were not bonded by blood or clan ties. The only thing that connected them was the urban space they created and the ways of life it leads to. As these people were not placed within a familial structure, they had to find other ways
Greece: dictatorship-era anti-protest law triggers large demonstrations
Thousands of people protested in Greece yesterday in response to the new law giving the police new powers to regulate protests. The protests in Athens and Thessaloniki turned violent, with police, as per tradition, using teargas to contain it. The protesters responded with molotov cocktails. In Athens, the cops detained 15 people, of which 9
The enemy is racism. The enemy is the police. The enemy is capitalism.
I wanted to talk about the oppression of black people, the racism I have faced here but I realize the narrative is already out there if you have been listening