BY CHRIS HOBBS
A group of people holding signs.....TUC March
Protesters at TUC March with vigilant front line officers behind the barriers
TUC March
Photos: Chris Hobbs
So, just hours away from a large left-wing protest, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, takes aim at the officers of the Met implying that the issue of ‘rotten apples’ is one of endemic proportions. This prompted the question as to whether his statement was actually timed to coincide with this demonstration organised by the TUC and which attracted groups and individuals from across the political left.
If the timing was not intentional, then it can only be described as both ill-timed and careless. Many officers feel that this constant denigration by this Mayor actually places a ‘target on their backs;’ in fairness, there are many others from the mainstream media to those on the hard left and far right who are assisting in adding to the dangers faced by front line officers in London and elsewhere.
The numbers on this march were probably far in excess of that which had been estimated, but, unlike protests by anti-vaxxers over the last two years, there was virtually no abuse of officers by those protesting; in fact, I saw just three very minor incidents which were resolved within minutes.
Even Downing Street saw only brief stops by sections of the march, accompanied by booing and chanting, at Boris and not at the officers behind the barriers; it was all very restrained, good natured and, dare I say it, rather British.
There were two groups of masked hooded individuals dressed in black but other than an apparent sit-down outside the home of William Rees-Mogg, they too behaved impeccably.
Although most protesters had reached Parliament Square for a well organised meeting, it came as a shock to those still in Whitehall, when the sound of a band could be heard coming down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square whilst playing; ‘Who do you think you are kidding Mr. Hitler!’
Then it was orange
It was another well- ordered procession of marching men and women, smartly dressed with many wearing orange sashes; in other words, a loyalist march. There was also more than one band in a disciplined, marching procession which stretched for some distance.
There was clearly a potential problem here in that leftist protesters and loyalists would not mix amicably and indeed, familiar faces from the far-right could be seen on the footway but were clearly accompanying the loyalists. The march stopped outside Downing Street and further on, just past the Cenotaph, a loose police cordon was hastily formed.
After a pause of some minutes during which discussions appeared to be taking place, the Loyalist bands struck up again and they began marching towards a Parliament Square packed with protesters. However, after passing the Cenotaph, the Loyalists turned and marched back up Whitehall before taking a right-hand turn and continuing down to the Embankment and thence towards the City of London.
There was one incident when a leftist protester claimed to a female officer that one of the marchers had manhandled him. In so doing, this middle-aged man thrust his phone into the face of the female officer filming her as he made the complaint. Other officers intervened and the ‘suspect’ voluntarily arrived and had his say. Eventually, common sense prevailed and everyone went on their way.
By the time I returned to Parliament Square, the meeting had finished and the protesters were dispersing. The day wasn’t quite over as Ukrainian protesters were gathering opposite Downing Street but the main event had passed without incident which reflects great credit on all involved.
The question still remains however, as to the timing of the Mayor’s attack on the Met and its officers. Perhaps he will now be kind enough to reveal the evidence he used to reach his damning conclusions.
Is he relying on the unspecified methodology featured in relevant IOPC reports when referring to stop and search and the Charing Cross incident? Is he relying on the one report written in respect of Child ‘Q’ which leaves many questions unanswered? In any event he is ‘collectively smearing’ officers who, on a daily basis, perform acts of bravery, kindness and compassion thus keeping the proverbial lid on what is becoming a bubbling cauldron of violence and unrest which is likely to grow over future months.
It's not an exaggeration to say that front-line Met officers are sick of it.