It won`t have escaped the notice of most people who don`t live a hermit`s life on a remote uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland that there were, according to some estimates, 17,000 police on duty in London last Saturday. For the legally minded the statement on the eve of the main event that "Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low. We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration." was a clear warning from the Metropolitan Police that they were intending to exploit to the full their new powers enshrined in the The Public Order Act 2023 (Commencement No.1) Regulations 2023 which had received the Royal Assent a couple of days previously. It stretches the bounds of credulity to assume the connection between the low key announcement of the new legislation and its intended implementation on the streets of London at the coronation was a coincidence.
Personally I have taken a passive part in two demonstrations in Trafalgar Square where flags and placards were exhibited. Police were there to ensure public safety but despite opposing voices the rallies were the epitome of peaceful protest. I have also been delayed for over an hour on the M25 to my bladder`s consternation by protesters having glued themselves to the tarmac. If a summary case involving the latter had come before me with appropriate evidence those involved in obstruction on the highway would likely have found the matter proved. The law is there to be applied. The coronation arrests were of an entirely different dimension. To be charitable to the police it seems not unlikely that they just were not adequately trained in the nuances of the new legislation. It also seems not unlikely IMHO that directions were given from on high that the world wide viewing spectacle must not be hampered in any way by interference however peaceful which would upset the image of "Glorious Britannia".
With regard to the event itself and the iniquity the high handed police actions have brought to those charged with projecting Brexit Britain as more than a symbol of power but a leader in combining the best traditions of yore with open arms for the future, there is now a world wide impediment to that former benign image. Reuters and other highly considered foreign news organisations eg The Washington Post and France 24 have internationalised the crass actions of the police. And so to the reality of further police incompetence or impending governmental authoritarianism depending on an observer`s political take on the subject. So far we know that 64 people were "detained" for offences including affray and breach of the peace. Four are appearing today at Westminster magistrates court. Three female safety officers employed by Westminster council to assist any women in distress on the streets of Soho were arrested "in possession of rape alarms" which, said the police, could frighten the horses: horses which have been trained to ignore ceremonial cannon fire, brass bands and bagpipes and heavy traffic. Republic, to which I have been a donor, had six members arrested prior to the big event on spurious grounds that they possessed items which could be used as lock on devices. After fourteen hours in detention they were de arrested and released without charge. Doubtless we will have more information in the weeks to come about the consequences for the police of their high handedness.
Public protest and harm to the public caused by said protest is the interface between permitted actions and behaviour on which a free society is constructed and authoritarian rule by the politically powerful. It would appear that the salami slicing of our individual choices and freedoms under the umbrella of "victims` rights", facial recognition, political nepotism, uncontrolled immigration, failing health care for many, climate change hysteria, a justice system unable to cope with demand and "equality of arms" unavailable to the majority is enveloping us just as surely as woke attitudes in education poison young minds as ignorance seems to be an achievement and history is forgotten.
The sad outcome of the last few days is that the legislation will not be repealed. We are all now living under a law which has crossed that threshold from democratic freedoms to be protected to the state which must be the beneficiary of that protection. All this from a supine parliament, supine because in 2016 the people of this nation were lied to by those they trusted and whose clown of a prime minister, alias the court jester, easily outscored the antisemitic leader of Her Majesty`s Loyal Opposition to secure a once in a lifetime change in the political order. Truly that 2016 Butterfly Effect has reached unimaginable places with more to come.
Personally I have taken a passive part in two demonstrations in Trafalgar Square where flags and placards were exhibited. Police were there to ensure public safety but despite opposing voices the rallies were the epitome of peaceful protest. I have also been delayed for over an hour on the M25 to my bladder`s consternation by protesters having glued themselves to the tarmac. If a summary case involving the latter had come before me with appropriate evidence those involved in obstruction on the highway would likely have found the matter proved. The law is there to be applied. The coronation arrests were of an entirely different dimension. To be charitable to the police it seems not unlikely that they just were not adequately trained in the nuances of the new legislation. It also seems not unlikely IMHO that directions were given from on high that the world wide viewing spectacle must not be hampered in any way by interference however peaceful which would upset the image of "Glorious Britannia".
With regard to the event itself and the iniquity the high handed police actions have brought to those charged with projecting Brexit Britain as more than a symbol of power but a leader in combining the best traditions of yore with open arms for the future, there is now a world wide impediment to that former benign image. Reuters and other highly considered foreign news organisations eg The Washington Post and France 24 have internationalised the crass actions of the police. And so to the reality of further police incompetence or impending governmental authoritarianism depending on an observer`s political take on the subject. So far we know that 64 people were "detained" for offences including affray and breach of the peace. Four are appearing today at Westminster magistrates court. Three female safety officers employed by Westminster council to assist any women in distress on the streets of Soho were arrested "in possession of rape alarms" which, said the police, could frighten the horses: horses which have been trained to ignore ceremonial cannon fire, brass bands and bagpipes and heavy traffic. Republic, to which I have been a donor, had six members arrested prior to the big event on spurious grounds that they possessed items which could be used as lock on devices. After fourteen hours in detention they were de arrested and released without charge. Doubtless we will have more information in the weeks to come about the consequences for the police of their high handedness.
Public protest and harm to the public caused by said protest is the interface between permitted actions and behaviour on which a free society is constructed and authoritarian rule by the politically powerful. It would appear that the salami slicing of our individual choices and freedoms under the umbrella of "victims` rights", facial recognition, political nepotism, uncontrolled immigration, failing health care for many, climate change hysteria, a justice system unable to cope with demand and "equality of arms" unavailable to the majority is enveloping us just as surely as woke attitudes in education poison young minds as ignorance seems to be an achievement and history is forgotten.
The sad outcome of the last few days is that the legislation will not be repealed. We are all now living under a law which has crossed that threshold from democratic freedoms to be protected to the state which must be the beneficiary of that protection. All this from a supine parliament, supine because in 2016 the people of this nation were lied to by those they trusted and whose clown of a prime minister, alias the court jester, easily outscored the antisemitic leader of Her Majesty`s Loyal Opposition to secure a once in a lifetime change in the political order. Truly that 2016 Butterfly Effect has reached unimaginable places with more to come.
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