April 26, 2010

Police to release secret report on the death of Blair Peach

Blair Peach died after being struck on the head at a demonstration against the NF
Campaigners believe the anti-fascist protester was killed by police during a demonstration in 1979

A highly critical report into the death of Blair Peach, the anti-fascist campaigner widely believed to have been killed by police in 1979, is expected to be published on Tuesday. Some 2,000 pages of documents will be released, including a previously secret police report. Peach, a 33-year-old teacher from New Zealand, died after being struck on the head at a demonstration against the National Front in Southall, west London. Witnesses said they saw him being attacked by police, but after an internal investigation no officers were charged.

It is understood the report has been redacted to protect the identities of individual officers. However, most interest is expected to focus on a report by commander John Cass, the Metropolitan police officer who investigated the death.

The Met agreed to release the report after Ian Tomlinson, a passerby at the G20 protests in London, died of internal bleeding last year after being attacked by a police officer. The incident, caught on film obtained by the Guardian, prompted comparisons with the Peach case.

At the April 1979 demonstration, more than 40 people, including 21 police, were injured and 300 were arrested. A pathologist report said Peach died from injuries likely to have been caused by a lead-weighted rubber cosh or hosepipe filled with lead shot. When officers' lockers were raided, unauthorised weapons including a metal cosh were found, but this was ruled out as the weapon that killed Peach.

Guardian

7 comments:

Towards a Higher Man said...

The good old days.

wren said...

Expect no truth to come out about the killing of Blair Peach!

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The BBC will be devoting a huge amount of publicity to the BNP after it screens the third and final election debate on BBC1.

Cyclops has been invited to take part in a lengthy interview on Radio 4's flagship daily current affairs show, Today, the morning after the debate.

This all comes after the BNP have publically returned to their old jackboot stomping ground of "repatriation" of non-white people from Britain, and even the electoral commision have stopped the BNP taking on new members.

Anonymous said...

RIP Blair

The SPG who murdered him had the reputation of being the NF's paramilitary wing and the Police generally were mostly pro-NF back then. I was a teenager living in nearby Northolt at the time and I remember, just after Peach's murder, a policeman, in uniform, writing in biro on an SWP memorial poster on Lady Margaret Road. I waited for the cop to move off, got off the bus I was on to take a closer look, and found he'd scrawled the letters 'NF' across the photo.

Antifascist said...

'The good old days.'

That's just about what we expect from you, you clown.

Anonymous said...

"The good old days."

Now here's a few words for you : Eugene Terre Blanche

Mike said...

"'The good old days.'"

Typically stupid. Joe Owens should keep his gob shut if he's go nothing sensible to say.

meaowmeaow said...

Is Joe Owens selling more crack, shit or coke?