ThisIsLocalLondon reports 38 arrests on Monday, during the second phase
Of the 38 arrests, most were for breaching a ban on protests within one mile of Parliament Square. One person is being held on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon, and another for possesing an illegal substance, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.
Obviously the words "a ban on protests within one mile of Parliament Square" is not a very accurate description of the Designated Area of rather less than the maximum of 1 kilometer from the nearest point in Parliament Square.
More people could be be served with a summons by post, as a result of the Police photography and demands for names and addresses before they let the small crowd of demonstrators penned in by the Police cordon in the centre of Parliament Square, eventually go home.
There seem to be plenty of photos of of the scuffles and arrests on the IndyMedia website:
- Police treatment of journalists in parliament square on monday
- Sack Parliament - More Photographs
- Sack Parliment - Peaceful protesters abused
There must have been almost the same number of freelance, mainstream media and Police photographers in the area as there were actual demonstrators.
The photos also show how little actual violence there was, apart from the normal struggles of people as they were being arrested, and the traditional British game of push and shove, when a crowd is penned in by a Police cordon.
Once the majority of demonstrators had been forced by the Police into the centre of Parliament Square, the stated aim of the Sack Parliament organisers, to physically prevent access to the Houses of Parliament by MPs and Lords was defeated.
They missed an opportunity to try to peacefully lobby or shame MPs entering the building, and to gather wider media coverage, by virtue of trying to block their physical access, something which cannot be tolerated in a democracy.
Nevertheless, it appears that this is the largest number of people who have been arrested within the SOCPA Designated Area for protesting without prior written permission from the Police, on one day.
It is fundamentally wrong to arrest people who were not being violent and who were not actually obstructing the passage of Members of Parliament and Lords to and from the Houses of Parliament.