Also strange that Bridget Phillipson hasn't said a word about this, she's apparently all in favour of free speech. Seems that silent worship doesn't qualify, it's only loudmouth fascists like Douglas Murray she wants to protect and indeed promote.
Anyone who thinks that a far-right takeover of British politics is about the next election isn't paying attention. Starmer's faction is trying to emulate Trump and Musk. They're acting on behalf of their corporate sponsors, principally arms and oil companies.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
As has been stated, freedom of speech, assembly, and fair trials are an essential part of the free public debate which must underpin any democracy. We cannot accept these unprovoked arrests as some kind of new normal
This is on the back of Tory legislation from the last administration. You may recall most of the media (and much of the public) supporting it because it was 'aimed at' XR and JSO.
Now...what *was* the meeting? Sewing circle? XR? ISIS? Gunpowder Plotters?
You'd have thought this would have been stopped by now, It's not like folks are conspiring to burgle the world or something, just folks that are concerned about the disaster which is the Gaza Genocide.
It's a backwards universe when this is seen as "dissent".
I wonder what triggered this though. British Stasi?
The removal of the right to protest is horrific but I'm perhaps even more concerned with how the media is so often complicit by demonising it and manufacturing false intersubjective realities.
Absolutely. The media is brand activists as selfish, childish, spoilt, entitled & set us up as enemies of “ordinary hardworking families”. Violence towards protesters by members of the public is condoned. Harsh sentencing celebrated. Even mild inconvenience leads to pearl clutching on an epic scale.
Indeed, if you're protesting against the "injustice" of you paying almost half as much tax as everyone else, you are a media darling. Protesting an existential threat to all of us, is not to be tolerated.
I wonder what all those people who swore blind that Labour would swerve to the left after the election are thinking now? Are they simply doubling down or are they going to own their mess?
If only we had a PM who was former head of the CPS and knighted for it. He would understand and see clearly that we have Conservative legacy laws incompatible with the law.
I don’t any more. Haim Bresheeth, Asa Winstanley (where’s the justification for raiding his home?) And many more. They just want to stop free speech; it’s having the opposite effect.
In the same spirit some balanced reporting from the
BBC News... 'most loathed'. If they used that phrase about Farage or BP the RW press would be up in arms. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0d047810no
Russia's UK branch, Reform Party and their leader, grifting, traitorous troublemaker, Farage, always welcome on BBC.
But people concerned about the future of the planet. Oh no, down with that sort of thing. HUGE road blocking tractors, fine. Peaceful Gaza protests, lock them up.
What bollox.
The scariest line in this report is at the end: this is what happens when Society criminalises protest - this kind of fascism is actually quite popular
This is deeply shocking. To be arrested for just having a meeting is authoritarianism of a worrying kind. This new police act is wrong on so many levels it's time people realised what it actually means
Surely it depends on what the meeting was about? I mean, there are presumably meetings to plan certain things that would cross even the most libertarian red line?
The situation in Cardiff of police using live facial recognition cameras "to keep visitors safe" and then giving penalties for wearing a face covering in public should be a national call to action but people really believe "nothing to hide, nothing to fear"
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
I guess for those who need a mask for health reasons, wondering what our "Friendly Fascist" government will do about them, well see the #SpringStatement.
But don't worry, unlike typical fascists, these friendly ones will be punishing you for your own good.
The group in question was actually Youth Demand, although they were meeting in a hired room in Westminster Quaker Meeting House. But that doesn't make it less scandalous. Six women eating hummus and talking about protests re Gaza & climate change.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Yes. It is sinister when this government is clearly stating there is free speech in this country. Climate change, Palestine, what will be next? Criticising Starmer?
This is really sinister. The fact that Starmer didn't cancel the Tory anti-protest laws makes me think he is reading the playbook from Trump's crowd. His lack of pushback against Trump's madness is very worrying. We will not benefit from any deals Trump chooses to make with us.
It never surprises me when an opposition vehemently argue against a current governments 'draconian' laws, but are happy to keep them when they become the government.
Centrists never do, that's their function. Right wing governments come in, make atrocious changes, centrist government cines in and keeps the status quo, and repeat. Refusing to effect progress or positive changes in people's lives facilitates the right wing.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
It really shouldn't be a surprise. You don't become Director of Public Prosecutions because you want to defend people's rights. That's what defence lawyers do. Prosecutors want to put people behind bars. The DPP is literally the strong arm of the state.
Who? He represented the defendants in the mclibel case at the echr. If you want a negative, i think he prosecuted the Twitter "joke"bomb threat at ema.
He didn't represent the defendents in the Mclibel case they defended themselves. He gave them advice in his spare time. Plus that was in the 90s over 25 years ago. I can't say who for confidentiality reasons. Anyone who actually believes in Human Rights doesn't become DPP. People in human rights,
Ask yourself why he didn't stay in that field? He was a human rights lawyer when relatively young and building a career. He did it to get recognised. I have heard from people he defended that he was also very bad at it.
No it's not. He was a defence lawyer when he was young and needed to make a name for himself and later became a prosecuter, rising to the top as DPP. You do not get to be DPP if you actually believe in human rights. The OPP is institutionally racist & classist. The antipathy of civil liberties.
As an atheist, I heartily condemn the action that led to the arrest of young women in a meeting.
Gone is Freedom of Speech in the UK. We follow Russia, China, Myanmar, and USA.
The laws are regressive and erosion of democratic right to meet and protest. But, hey, l’m probably not even allowed to think or express these views judging by this.
Yes - it wasn’t a Quaker meeting but a Youth Demand meeting at a Quaker house. Multiple arrests of that group also in private houses for conspiracy to cause public nuisance ie planning protests. Still seems totally OTT to me. https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2025/03/28/youth-demand-raids/
All I can think of is that either the meeting and its agenda were publicised and attracted the attention of the police who massively overreacted or someone informed and similarly misread things.
I mean we're still allowed to have discussions, aren't we?
I don't know, Silke. I'm honestly struggling to get my head around it. That's all I can think of.
What I don't get is why someone in the police decision-making process that led to this raid didn't say at some point "Erm... Can I just ask?... Are we actually sure about this? Quakers? Really?"
Any thoughts on why every MSM outlet in the UK has ignored it, even though CNN covered it? They can't cover everything, but I'd have thought that the Guardian at least would have thought it highly newsworthy. Just slipped through a crack? Or more sinister like a D notice or "obeying in advance"?
I would have thought that Labour would have repealed the relevant anti-protest laws, promulgated by the extreme-right Tory regime of infamous memory, by now.
That they haven´t done so shows that they are basically the same as the Tory Nazi nutters.
Met: Youth Demand have stated an intention to ‘shut down’ London over the month of April. “While we absolutely recognise the importance of the right to protest, we have a responsibility to intervene to prevent activity that crosses the line from protest into serious disruption and other criminality”
I’ve only seen what’s been reported so far. I expect our legal processes to be correctly followed now and the individuals either released without charge or charged, depending on the evidence provided. Do you have information at this stage that suggests they were unwarranted?
The nuance of this case is over reaching legal intervention into our right to assemble and demonstrate our convictions without the state imposing their dictate in the absence of our free will.
I simply prefer to find out the specific facts of the case before adopting a position of outrage, which seems like a sensible approach to me, especially as there’s so much to be outraged about right now, but each to their own..
I’m aware of the Quakers past support for Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, so expect their values to also align with Youth Demand.
And “Sometimes things which are legally wrong can be morally right” - Paul Parker, so there seems to be an awareness that their actions may be deemed as illegal.
I trust @quaker.org.uk will respond. It's emblematic of loss of freedoms and it's relevant to all Brits - whatever your views about Palestine/Israel or the climate crisis.
This is from a senior State Dept official who resigned re Gaza. It's relevant to the UK too.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Heartened to see that you that well known radical leftist publication, The Times, is sufficiently concerned that they have the story as their front page headline.
As an atheist, I see nothing special about religious people, nor about religious buildings. Entering such a building to perform an arrest does not cause me concern. What I want to know, however, is the grounds given for the arrest.
It's not that we should see places of worship as sacrosanct. It's that successive UK Governments HAVE, and have avoided apprehending people in them, even during "the Troubles."
Breaking down the door of a traditional peace church has breached that convention. That is what's significant.
What next?
If you are arrested, the police have to tell you on what grounds they are arresting you.
If you are charged, you have to be told what the charges are.
What are the grounds or the charges (if any) in this case?
Our son was arrested at a demo, for intimidation of an officer using an anti-strike law, which included a specific exclusion relating to police.
At the police station, the duty sergeant was heard to say that charge will never stick.
So they thought of another one.
I don't think the second charge actually led to a conviction – if it was like other his arrests, they tend to fail because police evidence relating to arrests is poor, or the arresting officer didn't turn up to the court hearing.
Yes. But even when there is no conviction, the police may still have been within their rights to make the initial arrest.
I have no 'opinion' on this case; I'm just waiting for more details.
George...the British Gov't interned thousands of its citizens in the 1970s, without evidence or trial. They then murdered civil rights activists who marched in protest.
Of course it can happen.
It already has.
Or do the "micks" not count?
It has been happening for over 400+ years !
A political party is just the name. The system does not change with the party - its continues to digs its heels in a new garb.
I don't understand how this happens in long-standing democracies with an incoming autocracy. Can the average police officer or military personnel, who joins to protect their nation from external aggressors or internal criminals, not have a conscience & refuse to support this kind of stuff.
I want to know more about why the Met did this, the intelligence which led 20 to 30 officers to raid a church for 6 people.
I want to know who sanctioned it and on which legal grounds.
There has been little or nothing from The Met in explanation, which may be telling, in itself.
So far, it's been lacklustre. They're not moving fast enough on reforms. It feels a bit like a Biden gov in between Trump govs. We should be investigating the previous 'marauders' for criminality before we lose the opportunity.
Exactly. The left is infiltrated into a killing time administration wherever, then they take the blame for having to outlay on internal spending as it is stolen in the Trump years. Nothing works.
One would expect this to have take place in the US as its admin is a fascist government right now, but in the UK…I’m shocked…over the Gaza issues…wow UK you have a problem here!!!
Approx 134000 Palestinians and Arabs killed by Israel since 1948 and thousands displaced.Hamas were stupid to be allowed Oct 7. However Israel killings and displacement far exceed reasonable response.
The far-right's infiltration and infestation of our body politic extends through the BBC, our political parties, our legislature, judiciary, police, and armed forces.
Were the individual cops happy to be breaking up a Quaker meeting?
We all need to take a stand and refuse some orders.
Those officers probably loved it. Our police force has a very dark side, I've seen it and now these women have. You can't assume there's a decent human being under that uniform, it's not safe to do so. Don't talk to them at protests, ever. You can't trust them.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Very apparent at the time that oil companies were lobbying western govs to give protesters weighty sentences. In clear contrast to the farmer's protests
Well, well. That explains why you get a longer jail sentence for stopping traffic for Climate Rebellion than you do for physically assaulting someone on a bus.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
To be fair, the Society Of Friends have a long record of standing up for and working towards achieving what they believe is the right things to do.
Abolition of slavery for example.
"conspiracy to cause a public nuisance" is a good all purpose crime that could be used for pretty much anything, like say, imprisoning someone for being on a Whatsapp chat.
Imagine if it had been a mosque or a synagogue? There would be hell on, Quakers are a relatively small religious group, so I expect they thought nobody would care
The Quakers are still officially a Christian religion, although personally I tick the 'other' box and then write in 'Quaker', rather than ticking the 'Christian' box on the census.
I think the phrase is 'shocked but not suprised'. Disgusted also applies. The comprehensive clampdown on all independent thought and action is happening across Europe as well as, obviously, in the US. We are in the process of losing The Enlightenment.
Going after Quakers in a Meeting House is an alarm bell. Then again, Cameron sending goons to smash up The Guardian's hard drives, the Battle of the Beanfield, and the Peterloo Massacre were all alarm bells too. If they think they can get away with it, they will do it.
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
It actually is. If the Police think that discussion constitutes a conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. Which is so vague that it means they can basically arrest you for any discussion around organising a protest.
We are heading down a dark dark road to authoritarianism. A quaker meeting house has never been invaded by the authorities as far as I know, as a historian, since the 17th century. @mrjamesob.bsky.social
Internment in Northern Ireland in the ‘70s was used as a dry run to be “on the books” for implementation in England. It turned out to be a total disaster and was deemed to risk a larger general uprising if continued.
They’ve refined it now to mask it in the respectability of courts and law.
This is turning out to be a very scary period, ecologically and socially. The dwindling options on the table are increasing the probability of unimaginable suffering. Civilisation is being wilfully dismantled in broad daylight. As far as I can tell, it's about defending dismantling nature.
I'm not defending this action. I just wanted to know whether the police have acted within the law. A challenge regarding an over-reach of their powers would be 'interesting'.
Not to me. Not yet. We don't know enough about it.
The main fuss appears to be that it was in a Quaker meeting house. That doesn't bother me in the least, since I do not see religious buildings as 'special'.
Meanwhile a bunch of people meet in a private hall called Westminster and plan to strip money from the most vulnerable in society and the Police guard the door and do nothing… hmm
Ne’er a more rancid, corrupt, not fit for purpose organisation has ever existed than the Met Police. An institution thats racist, sexist and serving as enforcers for the establishment. Disgusting. 🤮
Join us in Parliament Square on April 26th to show that you intend to be part of a peaceful resistance against the march of authoritarianism, corruption, fascism and destruction. Our power is in the numbers refusing to be complicit. We are our own superpower.
Yvette Janus Cooper:
"the right to protest must always be balanced against the freedom for everybody else to go about their daily lives. The police already have powers to place conditions on protests."
It’s disturbing that the latest anti-dissent legislation effectively bans protest within 10 mins walk of a synagogue, while armed cops can break into a Quaker meeting house to arrest people for *talking* about peacefully protesting climate change and genocide
Comments
In effect fascism is already here
Crazy stuff.
Now...what *was* the meeting? Sewing circle? XR? ISIS? Gunpowder Plotters?
It's a backwards universe when this is seen as "dissent".
The removal of the right to protest is horrific but I'm perhaps even more concerned with how the media is so often complicit by demonising it and manufacturing false intersubjective realities.
BBC News... 'most loathed'. If they used that phrase about Farage or BP the RW press would be up in arms.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy0d047810no
But people concerned about the future of the planet. Oh no, down with that sort of thing. HUGE road blocking tractors, fine. Peaceful Gaza protests, lock them up.
What bollox.
https://www.south-wales.police.uk/news/south-wales/news/2025/february/extra-live-facial-recognition-cameras-cardiff-city-centre-keep-visitors-safe/
Hmmm, I wonder what the criteria for identifying "successful" is?
Note that there are serious issues with AI facial recognition misidentifying people if colour.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/facial-recognition-cameras-installed-london-croydon-b1218431.html
But don't worry, unlike typical fascists, these friendly ones will be punishing you for your own good.
The QUAKERS?!!!
They have been providing a moral compass for centuries.
Non violent!
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
I spent 30 years in the police, not Met. Inc responsibility for planning a couple of large ops. where protests were expected.
The right to protest / freedom of speech = important civil right.
End of.
We need more information.
Gone is Freedom of Speech in the UK. We follow Russia, China, Myanmar, and USA.
Fucking Quakers!!
Did no one stop and do a reality check in this!!?
Quakers peacefully discussing Gaza or the climate crisis is considered seditious now?
And... who told the police and why? 🤔
#Vote4Democracy
#freepalestine
I mean we're still allowed to have discussions, aren't we?
Aren't we? 😨
What I don't get is why someone in the police decision-making process that led to this raid didn't say at some point "Erm... Can I just ask?... Are we actually sure about this? Quakers? Really?"
Because if not, this is terrifying.
Just having a meeting is now an offence.
Terrifying.
They give *five years* for planning non-violent protests while Jeremy Clarkson and his ilk block the streets with tractors
People trying to avoid fair tax - as you were
They always do this before the farming season starts.
Just bored farmers.
#fascism
That they haven´t done so shows that they are basically the same as the Tory Nazi nutters.
The nuance of this case is over reaching legal intervention into our right to assemble and demonstrate our convictions without the state imposing their dictate in the absence of our free will.
But I suppose you might not understand that.
“But I suppose you might not understand that?”
I simply prefer to find out the specific facts of the case before adopting a position of outrage, which seems like a sensible approach to me, especially as there’s so much to be outraged about right now, but each to their own..
Many Quakers are involved in non-violent direct action campaigns for climate and Palestinian justice.
Gaie DeLap of Just Stop Oil and others mentioned here, for example.
https://www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/news/this-human-rights-day-a-quaker-grandmother-s-prison-recall-sparks-rights-concerns
And “Sometimes things which are legally wrong can be morally right” - Paul Parker, so there seems to be an awareness that their actions may be deemed as illegal.
Met police said it had arrested 6 at the meeting and 5 others (4 in London and 1 in Exeter) on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
The police said all those arrested had been released on bail, except for one who was released and will face no further action.
This is from a senior State Dept official who resigned re Gaza. It's relevant to the UK too.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/josh-paul-dc_america-is-watching-the-rise-of-a-dual-state-activity-7311032474749317121-n6ua?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAAD0cbwBTxayitAfrXeWQ-WTk8MJBrZ9ipg
What on earth can we do?
Do we know what charges were brought against these six women?
Religions promote the afterlife which makes people accept ruining their real lives and real planet for baseless promises of the impossible .
Breaking down the door of a traditional peace church has breached that convention. That is what's significant.
What next?
If you are charged, you have to be told what the charges are.
What are the grounds or the charges (if any) in this case?
At the police station, the duty sergeant was heard to say that charge will never stick.
So they thought of another one.
I have no 'opinion' on this case; I'm just waiting for more details.
Take them to a custody "suite" (Croydon, for instance), then release them at 4am.
Of course it can happen.
It already has.
Or do the "micks" not count?
A political party is just the name. The system does not change with the party - its continues to digs its heels in a new garb.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/29/met-raids-quaker-meeting-house-and-arrests-six-women-at-youth-demand-talk?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-gb
I want to know who sanctioned it and on which legal grounds.
There has been little or nothing from The Met in explanation, which may be telling, in itself.
I've spent quite a lot of time arguing with my best mate about it.
The far-right's infiltration and infestation of our body politic extends through the BBC, our political parties, our legislature, judiciary, police, and armed forces.
Were the individual cops happy to be breaking up a Quaker meeting?
We all need to take a stand and refuse some orders.
For those who missed it, these anti-protest laws were actually written by an oil industry funded lobby group.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/rishi-sunak-right-wing-think-tank-anti-protest-laws-policy-exchange/
Abolition of slavery for example.
Slow hand clap to all who trusted these toxic suits and overlooked the vicious purging of the left.
There’s no going back.
Not now.
#Labour should be ashamed.
They’ve refined it now to mask it in the respectability of courts and law.
The Met Police consolidate their terrible reputation.
😡😡😡
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/29/met-raids-quaker-meeting-house-and-arrests-six-women-at-youth-demand-talk
But having a meeting - whatever the subject matter - may now be an arrestable offence.
That is now illegal under the British regime.
The main fuss appears to be that it was in a Quaker meeting house. That doesn't bother me in the least, since I do not see religious buildings as 'special'.
"the right to protest must always be balanced against the freedom for everybody else to go about their daily lives. The police already have powers to place conditions on protests."
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/editorial-yet-more-anti-protest-laws-bid-crush-peace-movement
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/six-youth-demand-campaigners-arrested-while-attending-meeting-in-london
https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2025-02/ACSR_C_2024_19_26_53_UK_Letter_confirming_concerns_29.01.2025.pdf
@calummillerld.bsky.social
asking him to support Quaker MPs in demanding accountability for this.