November 11, 2011

Police arrest EDL supporters 'to prevent breach of peace'

Police surround the Red Lion pub in Westminster, where dozens
of EDL supporters were arrested. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Scotland Yard says it has arrested 156 English Defence League supporters, who may have planned to target Occupy London

Police have arrested 156 supporters of the English Defence League in order to prevent a breach of the peace, Scotland Yard said. It is understood the EDL supporters were planning to target Occupy LSX protesters outside St Paul's Cathedral. The EDL followers were arrested outside the Red Lion pub, in Westminster, and taken to central London police stations.

The arrests came after Scotland Yard was accused of sending out threatening messages on the social networking site Twitter in the runup to the two-minute Remembrance Day silence on Friday. In a series of tweets an officer from CO11, the Metropolitan police's public order unit, said: "There is a policing operation in place to preserve the dignity of the two-minute silence. Individuals seeking to disrupt the two-minute silence will be dealt with robustly. Any police action will be considered and proportionate, respecting those who hold the two-minute silence as a sign of respect.

"If the memory of dead soldiers is insulted where people have gathered to honour those soldiers there is clearly a threat to public order. Deliberately using abusive or insulting words or behaviour is an offence under section 4 of the Public Order Act."

The tweets were greeted with outrage on Twitter, with critics accusing the Met of being intimidatory, threatening and aggressive.

Jules Carey, a lawyer who represented Lotfi Raissi, the Algerian pilot wrongly accused of taking part in the September 11 attacks, said: "This is the kind of freedom the veterans died for."

Referring to Scotland Yard's announcement this week that the Met had pre-authorised the use of plastic bullets in advance of the student anti-cuts rally, he added: "Are the Met about to announce that rubber bullets have been authorised for use on anyone showing insufficient respect?"

But Scotland Yard said it had issued the tweets because of intelligence that Muslims against Crusades were planning to repeat last year's protest to burn poppies during the two-minute silence.

In a statement the Yard said: "Last year during the two-minute silence a group burnt poppies and a counter-protest was also held. This caused considerable upset to members of the public and arrests were made as a result under the Public Order Act. Two people were later convicted in relation to this.

"Intelligence and information suggested a similar incident may occur this year. The tweets sent out from the CO11 Twitter account were intended to warn against this."

As the morning progressed, however, there was no sign of anyone from Muslims against Crusades – the group which was proscribed by the home secretary, Theresa May, on Thursday. Instead police moved in on a large group of EDL supporters and made arrests to prevent a breach of the peace, in the belief they were going to cause trouble with protesters outside St Paul's.

On Thursday night officers carried out searches at addresses in east London linked to Muslims against Crusades under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Guardian

17 comments:

B31 Antifascist said...

Bet those lovable American tourists were over the moon to see some 'quaint little English gentlemen' outside the Red Lion!!!

B31 Antifascist said...

The Royal British Legion, as custodians of Remembrance, must take their share of the blame for allowing the red poppy, the sacrasanct symbol of Remembrance since the 1920s, to become not only politicised but deliberately hijacked by the far right and turned into an emblem of assertive nationalism driven by racial supremacy and backed up with violence.

And nowhere to buy a white poppy in Birmingham, so unfortunately no poppy wearing for little old me this year. Though, to read the EDL's propaganda pages you'd think it was against English law not to wear one in early November!

Anonymous said...

The words of the EDL's 'call to war':

We urge our members not to drink any alcohol as this is not the day to be doing so

So what were they doing in and outside a bloody pub??

Anonymous said...

Just seen on Demotix that the BNP had a "protect the poppy" demo in Kensington. Small turnout of a forlorn looking and not particular attractive bunch of London activists. Griffin, Darby and Walker were there, the latter in a desert camo jacket.

They are obviously trying to muscle in on the publicity that the EDL and the MAC got in the same spot last year.

Anonymous said...

Police went in quite hard on the EDL and arrested loads. They didn't take any shit from them.

After the August riots the softly softly approach to public order has been abandoned.

Anonymous said...

So what were they doing in and outside a bloody pub??

Ha Ha

I thought that too

Anonymous said...

One very confused BNP supporter in Kensington today

http://www.demotix.com/photo/920641/bnp-camp-proposed-mac-protest-site

Bullshit Buster said...

and while this was going on in Whitehall, in Liverpool, EDL nazis say you don't have to be a Muslim to make us a trifle peeved:

http://uaf.org.uk/2011/11/edl-fascists-attempt-attack-on-trade-union-unites-north-west-hq/

hmmmm, to listen to the media, you'd think the EDL were just an organisation opposed to Islamic extremism

Anonymous said...

So what were they doing in and outside a bloody pub??

I'm teetotal & often go in pubs, they sell something called soft drinks.

Antifascist said...

'I'm teetotal & often go in pubs, they sell something called soft drinks.'

And how often do we see the EDL standing around outside boozers, insulting non-white passers-by, while clearly pissed as rats and swigging orange juice?

Anonymous said...

I'm teetotal & often go in pubs, they sell something called soft drinks.

You are absolutely correct sir!

The EDL were drinking non-alcoholic lager and Panda Pops.

Paul said...

The neo-Nazi EDL are anti-trade union. They are dangerous anti-democratic scumbags who use violence to intimidate socialists, democrats and leftwingers, because that is the philosophy of hatred instilled in them by Alan "Final Solution" Lake!!!

TeeTotela said...

Let's Don't Forget at this time of remembrance...

... Adolf Hitler used Beer Pusches (beer halls, i.e., pubs in Munich, to push his race hate message cos human beings are more likely to be irrationally hateful when arseholed!!!

B31 Antifascist said...

I'm teetotal & often go in pubs, they sell something called soft drinks.

Alcohol would only reduce the amounts of testosterone in their precious little nutsacks, wouldn't it???

Anonymous said...

"As the morning progressed, however, there was no sign of anyone from Muslims against Crusades – the group which was proscribed by the home secretary, Theresa May, on Thursday"

WHY THE MERRY FUCK DO THE TORIES PROSCRIBE ONE EXTREMIST GROUP AND NOT THE OTHER?

Anonymous said...

One very confused BNP supporter in Kensington today

http://www.demotix.com/photo/920641/bnp-camp-proposed-mac-protest-site

Was he just tidying up?

But have you seen the darby photo - Christ, he clearly cant afford Botox injections these days. Talk about old looking.

Dirty old man

Anonymous said...

Was he just tidying up?

Look at the series of photos from the BNP demo and he is in the background of a few photos and is clearly with the BNP groups.

I've heard rumours that London BNP have recently recruited a very eccentric African man and he could be it.