The Northern Police Monitoring Project has released a devastating report into the Greater Manchester Police’s actions during the EDL demonstration on Saturday. Read and weep, or even better, get angry and organised.
The Northern Police Monitoring Project (NPMP) is an independent grass-roots organisation based in Greater Manchester that provides advocacy, support and advice to communities suffering from undemocratic forms of policing.
The NPMP was asked by Manchester Unite Against Fascism (UAF) to liaise on their behalf with Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in relation to a protest called by UAF in response to a demonstration by the far-right English Defence League (EDL) in Manchester on 25 May 2013.
Several members of the NPMP attended the protest to observe the policing of this event. The NPMP has serious concerns about several aspects of the policing operation. These include:
- GMP officers escorting an EDL procession from Piccadilly Gardens to the Cenotaph in St Peter’s Square despite clear assurances from Chief Inspector Donna Allen that any attempt by the EDL to march would not be ‘facilitated’. When challenged by members of the NPMP about the decision, Inspector Allen claimed that the group of EDL protesters, who were walking in unison, carrying flags and placards and chanting racially abusive slogans, did not constitute a ‘march’, but was more akin to a ‘family taking a walk on a Saturday afternoon’;
- The failure of GMP officers to take action in response to attempts by EDL protesters to incite racial hatred, including racially abusing members of the public;
- The aggressive use of intelligence gathering tactics against UAF protesters, including filming protesters and demanding personal details;
- Several instances of police officers physically assaulting UAF protesters;
- Threats of arrest of UAF protesters under anti-social behaviour and public order legislation despite no evidence of criminal wrongdoing;
- The NPMP is particularly concerned about an incident involving the ‘kettling’ of UAF protesters, including a 14-year old boy, on Portland Street and the subsequent refusal to allow protesters to leave, despite assurances from Police Liaison Officers that they were free to do so.
Joanna Gilmore, Lecturer in Law and expert in public order law at Manchester University who acted as police liaison for UAF during the event, stated:
“It is disappointing that at a time when Greater Manchester Police are under intense scrutiny over their policing of a UAF demonstration in Bolton in 2010, including several civil actions and a GMP officer facing charges of perverting the course of justice, they do not appear to have learned lessons from these events. Whilst GMP officers appeared to go out of their way to ‘facilitate’ an unlawful march by the EDL, those who attempted to assemble peacefully to oppose them were subject to aggressive policing tactics and criminalisation. We would urge GMP to urgently revise their strategy in relation to these events and to fully accept the obligations bestowed on them under the European Convention of Human Rights.”
The NPMP is working with UAF and specialist lawyers to consider what legal action needs to be taken in relation to the policing of this event. We appeal to anyone that has any information that might be useful to us, including video footage, photographs and witness statements, to email us at: npmplegal@gmail.com
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