Barbara Tucker and Brian Haw arrested again in Parliament Square

| 7 Comments

One has to wonder exactly how well the Metropolitan Police are briefing their officers who patrol the Designated Area around Parliament Square, under the Serious Organised Crimeand Police Act 2005. Either thery are poorly trained or they are conducting a campaign of harassment.

Todays reports about the arrest and subsequent release of Brian Hawand Barbara Tucker, at the long running, and still perfectly legal anti-war protest in Parliament Square, seems to be a repeat of the very similar incident reported by the
BBC on 9th December 2005

Brian Haw, is, by virtue of the High Court ruling in his favour, which exposed the poor draughting of the hurried and improperly scrutinised SOCPA legislation, is currently exempt from its provisions regarding "unauthorised demonstrations", by virue of his protest having started before the Act came into force.

This means that none of the"Conditions" which can be applied arbitarily (and change at a whim by athe senior police officer on the spot), apply either e.g. restrictions on banners or posters etc.

Provided that there is no obstruction to the pavement (and there is plenty of room for the few passers by in the centre of Parliament Square, as established in previous court cases in favour of Brian Haw) there is no legal power for the police to try to confiscate a banner.

It is no wonder that Brian Haw has been released without charge, given that he was protesting to the police that what they were attempting to do was actually illegal.

Barbara Tucker, who was also arrested with him, is a long time supporter and friend of Brian's and appears to be under particular legal harassment by the power of the state.

She was the first person to be arrested and convicted of holding an unuthorised demonstration all on her own with no other people involved. Why should anyone be punished for holding a banner saying "I am not the Serious Organised Criminal" ?

It appears that she was arrested again on the same excuse i.e. that she was "suspected of holding an unuthorised demonstration".

How does one peaceful middle aged mother, on her own constitute any sort of security threat or possible disruption to the workings of Parliament ?

It is very frightening to see the power of the Labour government's police state bureaucracy, being used to try to crush single individuals.

7 Comments

Can anyone tell me why registering a protest beforehand is such a bad thing.

I am thinking of attending NAMING THE DEAD: MASS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AGAINST THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ on Sunday 2nd April 2006.

@ Simon - there is nothing at all wrong with notifying the Police etc. ahead of a major protest or demonstration if you choose to.

If it is likely to be of such a size that it will disrupt the flow of traffic, you are already obliged to do so, for obvious safety and road traffic management reasons, under other existing legislation.

What is different with the Designated Area around Parliament Square is that it has nothing whatsoever to do with road traffic or large crowd safety. It has nothing to do with being a proper Security Cordon either - on the one hand the Designated Area stretches over to the South Bank of the River Thames, yet at the same time, the boundary does not include St James' Park, which is literally a stone's throw from Downing Street. It has nothing to do with any attempts to impede MPs from having access to parliament in order to vote, that is also already covered by other laws.

Since the term "demonstration" in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 section 132 to 138 is not defined it could mean anything, in the opinion of a police officer.

Simply wearing a t-shirt or badge or wristband with a "political slogan" on it can be construed as "holding an unauthorised demonstration".

Remember you cannot simply tell the Police verbally face to face, or via email or via fax, or over the phone (which is what Milan Rai dis when he and Maya Evans got arrested for the reading the names of the British casualties in Iraq ceremony by the Cenotaph in Whitehall in October 2005) that you intend to "demonstrate" it must be done in writing, "at least 6 clear days" beforehand, or in exceptional circumstances "at least 24 hours" beforehand.
The standard Police form which they will try to get you to fill in demands your name and address and will be retained for at least 7 years.

If you do apply for prior permission in this way, then it must be granted, but arbitrary conditions can be imposed on your "demonstration" e.g. restricting the number of people, the time and exact location with the Designated Area, details of any banners, leaflets etc.

These arbitrary conditions can be added to or varied, at the whim of the senior Police Officer on the spot. He could decide to only allow you to enter the Designated Area by hopping on one foot or by crawling on all fours if he chose to. and it would be a criminal offence to disobey him.

Loudspeakers are totally banned.

There is no minimum period e.g. half an hour, for a demonstration before it falls under the SOCPA Designated Area powers.

Essentially, even if you have "permission" to "demonstrate", it is meaninglessess, as you can be arrested and charged and convicted for breaking any of the arbitrary "conditions"

The "public areas" within the Designated Area are not just the streets and pavements, but

(b) "public place" means any highway or any place to which at the material time the public or any section of the public has access, on payment or otherwise, as of right or by virtue of express or implied permission,

This covers the public lobby and visitors areas of the Palace of Westminster, where you may very well be legaly lobbying your MP, in the traditional way, and also the places of worship such as Westminster Abbey or Methodist Central Hall, and every bar, restaurant theatre and cinema and also Horse Guards Parade for the Trooping the Colour Ceremony etc. and the Tube stations (at ground level, butnot, apprently, the Tube trains running under the Designated Area).

All of this is an infringement of our fundamental human rights to free assembly and free speech, and possibly also to freedom of religion.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.

I watched the arrest of Milan Rai, where the officer makes the point that with freedom also comes responsibility. I just didn't think that it was unreasonable to inform the police (even in writing) as they have the job of co-ordinating these events.

I sound as though this arbitrary rule-changing is designed to allow the police to adapt if necessary. Again, if exercised properly, this doesn't seem unreasonable.

It all comes down to intent. If this is just about properly organising our spaces to ensure the maximum safety for the participants, then that might be acceptable. However, if it's about establishing a framework to brush away any unwanted protest then it should be opposed.

I am still unsure if this is a completely flawed piece of legislation or if there is some common sense in all of us at least registering in a common calendar what demos we will be staging.

@ Simon -

"I watched the arrest of Milan Rai, where the officer makes the point that with freedom also comes responsibility."

Milan Rai had already notified the Police by phone about his and Maya Evans' ceremony, it was not a surprise to them, and, given the vast amount of CCTV surveillance in Whitehall, it should not have been a surprise even if he had not.

The SOCPA law is very badly draughted - remember that a High Court Judicial Review exempted Brian Haw's long running protest, because he could never apply for permission before the commencement of his ongoing protest - the could not be expected to travel backwards in time i.e. a complete cock up by the Home Office.

The SOCPA law did not get proper detailed Parliamentary scrutiny, as it was one of the last Bills to get rushed through "on the nod" in the undemocratic backroom deal of the "wash up" process , just before Parliament was dissolved before the General Election. Being mostly concerned with the establishment of the new Serious Organised Crime Agency, the main Opposition "improvement" efforts were directed to excising the controversial "incitement to religous hatred" clauses, which the Government had then to bring forward as a separate Bill.

Why should so much arbitrary power to demand prior written permission and to impose conditions which curtail peaceful political or religous activity within the very area which is the traditional focus for demonstrations and protes, be forced onto our supposedly non-political Police ?

This inevitably associates the Metropolitan Police with the mistrust or hatred of the current or future Government, something which they are supposed to be insulated from, by serving the people of London and the Crown directly, as a crime fighting force, and not as a means of crushing political or religous dissent.

The people who have been arrested and convicted so far have all been anti-Iraq war pacifists, mostly with strong religous beliefs, but the law applies to every other shade of opinion and belief as well.

Remember that if any demonstrations or protests are violent or have the potential for violence, there are lots of other existing Police powers which already come into play.

There is no justification for the Designated Area being so huge. The extent of the Designated Area can be made, by Order of the Home Secretary to cover an area of up to 1 kilometer from the nearest point in Parliament Square.

The current Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 1537 - The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Designated Area) Order 2005 does not push the boundary to this maximum possible extent, but it does literally just skirt around the London Eye ferris wheel, the Lambeth Palace residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Security Service MI5 headquarters, the new Home Office
buildings, New Scotland Yard Metropolitan Police headquarters, Whitehall and Downing Street.

If it was really intended to deal with security threats or access problems which might impede the workings of Parliament, as claimed, then it would only need to cover the pavements directly outside the Palace of Westminster, and across the road on the Westminster Abbey side, and, the bit of pavement in the centre of parliament Square directly opposite the Carriage Gate entrance, where Brian Haw has his peace camp pitch and no more.

Even this Order is badly draughted, as it is unclear about the exact extent of the Designated Area boundary, especially on streets which it crosses at right angles:

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), references in paragraph (1) to a named street or other highway include the pavements adjoining that street or other highway on the extremity of the designated area.

e.g. is all of the unbroken pavement "adjoining"ng Birdcage Walk along St James' Park included, nearly as far as Buckingham Palace ?

This is a bad law which infringes our fundamental human rights, and politicises the Metropolitan Police, without any proper security justification, and it should be repealed.

Well that IS a comprehensive answer!

Thank you for your insights. I can see now why this is an important issue to tackle.

The point that the Police are not being used to catch criminals, but as the political enforcement for government is a very poignant one.

Since looking into this matter I have found a good article in the Guardian.

A law the Stasi would have loved
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act is the most pernicious piece of legislation yet introduced by this government
Read it here

My next comment may be by proxy. Does wormwood scrubs have internet access?

@ Simon - you are unlikely to end up in prison, unless you refuse to pay any fines imposed on you, but if you are arrested, you will have your fingerprints taken, be photographed and have your DNA sampled, all of which will be retained indefinately even if you are never charged or the charges are dropped and even if you are aquitted in court.

Incredibly, some internet access is apparently allowed in prisons - the murderer of the banker John Monckton is allegeded to have done research on high value jewellery and on rich potential victims etc. partly via the internet whilst still serving a prison sentence for attemptred murder.

Please send a letter to your Member of Parliament on how you feel about this SOCPA Designated Area issue e.g. by using the WriteToThem website.

Thanks for all your help. This has been the most useful overview I have read so far.

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Hints and Tips for Whistleblowers and Protest Organisers

The hints and tips below are just as important to anybody organising a peaceful Protest near to Parliament Square, as they are to other people who might come under UK Government or Multinational Corpotation:

Please take the appropriate precautions if you are planning to blow the whistle on shadowy and powerful people in Government or commerce, and their dubious policies. The mainstream media and bloggers also need to take simple precautions to help preserve the anonymity of their sources e.g. see Spy Blog's Hints and Tips for Whistleblowers - or use this easier to remember link: http://ht4w.co.uk

BlogSafer - wiki with multilingual guides to anonymous blogging

Digital Security & Privacy for Human Rights Defenders manual, by Irish NGO Frontline Defenders.

Everyone’s Guide to By-Passing Internet Censorship for Citizens Worldwide (.pdf - 31 pages), by the Citizenlab at the University of Toronto.

Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents - March 2008 version - (2.2 Mb - 80 pages .pdf) by Reporters Without Borders

Reporters Guide to Covering the Beijing Olympics by Human Rights Watch.

A Practical Security Handbook for Activists and Campaigns (v 2.6) (.doc - 62 pages), by experienced UK direct action political activists

Anonymous Blogging with Wordpress & Tor - useful step by step guide with software configuration screenshots by Ethan Zuckerman at Global Voices Advocacy. (updated March 10th 2009 with the latest Tor / Vidalia bundle details)

Convention on Modern Liberty - 28th Feb 2009

Convention on Modern Liberty - 28th Feb 2009
Convention on Modern Liberty - 28th Feb 2009

The Convention is being held in the Logan Hall and adjoining rooms at the Institute of Education in Bloomsbury, central London.

Address:

The Institute of Education
20 Bedford Way
London
WC1H 0AL

There are video linked screenings or other parallel meetings being held across the UK in Belfast. Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff and Manchester.

Convention on Modern Liberty blog

Campaign Button Links

NO2ID  Campaign
NO2ID - opposition to the Home Office's Compulsory Biometric ID Card and National Identity Register centralised database.

UK Public CCTV Surveillance Regulation Campaign
UK Public CCTV Surveillance Regulation Campaign

link to www.peopleincommon.org

People in Common - weekly Picnics etc. in Parliament Square, every Sunday at about 1pm.

Save Parliament: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill (and other issues)
Save Parliament - Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill (and other issues)

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Campaign for the Freedom of Information

Please help us to find this man! He was arrested(?) in Parliament Square on 1st August 2005

This man was one of the very first people arrested in Parliament Square on 1st August 2005, but he has apparently disappeared.

link to SilentProtest.org.uk
Silent Protest - a web photo gallery "encouraging people to stage a virtual, government un-sanctioned protest. All you need to do is get a picture of yourself, or your friends, within the protest free zone. Assume the pose (hand over mouth), aim and click."

repeal-SOCPA-info_150.gif
. repeal-SOCPA.info - useful background briefings for the Managing Protest around Parliament public consultation, and model letters to MPs etc.

About this blog

This web blog has been set up as an information resource and discussion area (please be polite in the comments) to help organise resistance to the restrictions on peaceful democratic demonstrations and protests, which have been enacted by law, in a wide Designated Area around Parliament Square in London.

It appears that in order to remove the peace protestor Brian Haw, who had been demonstrating continuously in Parliament Square, day and night, for over 10 years,(literally until his death in June 2011), the NuLabour Government overreacted, and granted themselves draconian and arbitrary powers, which affected the rights of all individual British citizens to lobby their Members of Parliament, or to walk in a vast Designated Area wearing a "political slogan" T-shirt, badge, rubber wristband etc. without first seeking prior written permission from the Police.

This is an affront to democracy and is not justified even on any spurious "climate of fear" alleged "security" grounds.

N.B. SOCPA ss128-132 is now repealed and replaced with less restictive laws, but there are still some peculiar restrictions and bylaws on protests around Parliament Square.

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Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 was rushed through, "on the nod", with minimal debate, during the undemocratic "wash up" process at the end of the last Parliament when the General Election had been called.

The bulk of the Act deals with the setting up of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, but there are also sections such as:

Section 110 Powers of Arrest

From 1st January 2006 this section makes any offence, no matter how minor, into an arrestable offence. Arrests by the police these days can mean taking 10 fingerprints and two palm prints, a DNA tissue sample and processing it into a digital "DNA fingerprint", forcing you to remove any facial coverings, (even those worn for religous purposes) to take photographs of your face etc. All of these items of personal data can then be retained forever, even if you are not charged, or any charges against you are dropped, or if you go to court and are found not guilty.

These new powers are regulated by the new statutory Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code of Practice G (.pdf)

Section 128 Trespass on a Designated Site - e.g. Crown Property or National Security

Sections 132 to 138 Demonstrations in the vicinity of Parliament - the controversial restrictions in detail.

The Public Whip website has details of how the Members of the House of Commons voted on these controversial clauses.

Brian Haw

Veteran peace protestor Brian Haw was physically camped out in Parliament Square since 2nd June 2001 until his death in June 2011

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 sections 132 to 138 Designatd Area law seem to have been written to try to specifically suppress his protests, although, through sheer incompetence, the Government found that Brian Haw himself was initially exempt from some of it, since his protest started before the stupidly worded repressive legislation came into force, although a later High Court Appeal, at public exepnse, did apply the law to him.

See Parliament Square website for news and support details.

Write to politicians

Write To Them - identify and contact your local councillors, Members of Parliament, devolved Assembly members and Members of the European Parliament

You can also write to the Home Secretary David Blunkett Charles Clarke John Reid Jacqui Smith Alan Johnson Theresa May

You can send an email public.enquiries@ homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk or a letter to:

Rt. Hon. Theresa May MP
Home Secretary
c/o Direct Communications Unit
Home Office
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF

Home Office Contact Us page

Designated Area

The current Designated Area is set out in:

Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 1537 The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Designated Area) Order 2005

Read more about the Designated Area in our category archive.

The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 section 132 to 138 have been repealed by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 Part 3 on the Statute Book, but not yet Commenced by Order). This replaces the Designated Area with a much smaller Controlled Area - just Parliament Square Gardens and the surrounding pavements.

Mass Lone Demonstrations

Comedian Mark Thomas's website has details of Mass Lone Demonstrations which legally show up the absurdity of this law, and the bureaucracy involved in enforcing it. These multiple independent one person demonstrations take place on the third Wednesday of the month, from 5pm - 7.30pm within the Designated Area (often in Parliament Square, but not exclusively so)

Meet on the second Wednesday of each month outside Charing Cross police station (located at Agar Street, London, WC2N 4JP - see the map) any time between: 5.30 pm -7.30pm to hand in your Metropolitan Police SOCPA forms (download the optional Word or PDF forms from the Metroplitan Police) or your own personal Written Applications for Prior Permission.

Regular Protests in Parliament Square

Parliament Square - supporting the long running, 24/7, peace protest by Brian Haw in Parliament Square

Global Women's Strike who held "open mike" loudspeaker protests every Wednesday for over two and a half years, which are now banned.

London Critical Mass - group bicycle ride on the last Friday of every month, for the last 10 years, which often strays into the Designated Area.

The People's Commons Meeting / Tea Party / Picnic-Protest is now meeting every Sunday afternoon starting at 1 for 1.30pm on the Green in Parliament Square. wiki - new website PeopleInCommon.org

Website Links

Home Office - "Not fit for purpose. It is inadequate in terms of its scope, it is inadequate in terms of its information technology, leadership, management, systems and processes" - Home Secretary John Reid. 23rd May 2006.

Metropolitan Police Service

Metropolitan Police Authority - meant democratically to supervise the Metropolitan Police Service

Independent Police Complaints Commission

United Kingdom Parliament - Palace of Westminster, House of Lords, House of Commons etc.

Booking Parliament Square - Greater London Authority booking forms, terms and conditions for filming and photography for Parliament Square - "The GLA does not grant permission for demonstration, rallies and public meetings on Parliament Square Gardens".

They Work For You - a more user friendly version of the House of Commons Hansard

Pledgebank pledge:

"I will form part of a human chain around the Westminster no protest zone but only if 6,000 other people will join in."

Repeal-SOCPA-Info has useful briefing material for the Public Consultation into the laws restricting demonstrations, marches and assemblies, sample letters to MPs etc..

Blog Links

Spy Blog - Privacy and Security and Civil liberties campaigning

Mayor of London Blog - unnofficial comments on the Mayor of London and Greater London Assembly

Fuel Crisis Blog - Petrol at £1 per litre ! Protest !

Bloggerheads graphics of the 1km zone and the actual Designated Area

Charity Sweet - who has been harrassed for reading a copy of the Independent newspaper outside Downing Street etc.

BBC Travel Jam Cams

BBC Radio London has some links to Traffic Monitoring CCTV cameras, which they publish every 5 or 10 minutes, not usually in real time.

Whenever there is an "incident" or a march or demonstration, these online images are deliverately censored i.e. "not available for operational reasons", This is despite the images being of too low a resolution to identify anybody, and, the effect of not diverting traffic away from the incident, which should be the whole point of the online Traffic Cam images in the first place.

Whitehall / Parliament Square - this camera view sometimes shows Brian Haw's peace camp, and the "temporary" GLA fence around Parliament Square Gardens (removed >then rebuilt)

Northumberland Avenue / Victoria Embankment

Trafalgar Square (on the edge of the Designated Area)