Events of the 13th of June
A Difficult Day
It wasn’t an easy decision as to whether, in the current
climate, to attend the protest and counter-protests on Saturday for reasons of
which we are all aware. I’d relied on live feeds and social media footage to
view events during previous Black Lives Matter protests
During the first protest which took place on a Wednesday, I
witnessed via social media, two officers being chased by a mob along Bridge
Street and then a handful of officers retreating down Whitehall. Saturday saw
more peaceful protesters leave before the remnants threw missiles at officers
outside Downing Street which prompted the mounted police charge during which an
officer was hospitalised.
Sunday, again saw a police operation that was roundly
criticised as ‘light touch’ policing which was again the order of the day. As
previously, most peaceful protesters had left when violence erupted exposing
lightly protected officers. Credit to those Black Lives Matter supporters who
stood between the thugs and the police.
Battle
lines are drawn
So, that was how I viewed matters via my laptop but was my
interpretation correct? I decided to take the plunge, using previously obtained
words of advice from a friend who is an experienced, senior ITU nurse and one
of the heroes dealing with the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Black Lives Matter had cancelled their own Saturday
demonstration in Hyde Park but supporters from two other organisations stated
that they wished protests to go ahead as did ant-racists, The Met therefore
designated the ‘north end’ of Whitehall as the BLM/ANTIFA meeting area which
would include Trafalgar Square while those engaged in ‘Monument Protection’
were allocated the south end including Parliament Square.
On my arrival at Trafalgar Square all was peaceful. About
200 mainly black youths and men were gathered by the fountains and a group of
around twenty veterans were protecting one of the statues. There seemed no
animosity and even some engagement and so it was down to Parliament Square via
the Embankment.
Lull before the
storm. Officers overlook Trafalgar Square
The ‘protect the monuments’ gathering in Parliament Square
was, in part, organised by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance, whose last
appearance in the square had led to pitched battles with police over the Brexit
issue. A Tommy Robinson video condemned the damage to statue and the actions,
or lack of them, by police while various veteran’s groups also stated they
would also be attending to protect monuments linked to our military history.
Military veterans in
Trafalgar Square
The cancellation by the BLM, of their event in Hyde Park
probably resulted in a number of ‘monument protectors’ deciding not to attend.
Although several thousand were present, there was plenty of room and social
distancing wasn’t a problem. Police serials (each an inspector and around 20 officers)
were at the junctions of all four streets that exited the Square but the
atmosphere was reasonably tranquil with plenty of alcohol being consumed.
The
arrival of the Veterans.
Suddenly and dramatically that atmosphere changed. Cheering
and applause rang out with the reason soon becoming clear; a group of veterans,
marching smartly three abreast, entered the square. Interestingly, effectively
leading the parade was a black ex-serviceman acting as a standard bearer. The
veterans marched to the now boarded up statue of Winston Churchill.
Alas, I’d managed to switch my phone to ‘selfie’ mode’ and
it wouldn’t switch back so by the time I’d switched it off and back on again,
this dramatic moment had passed.
There was, surprisingly, no platform or facility for making
speeches so after singing the usual variety of ‘patriotic’ songs including
‘Winston Churchill, he’s one of our own,’ the crowd slowly dispersed across
Parliament Square with some deciding to head for home.
I then began to hear of trouble in Trafalgar Square and wrongly
assumed it’d be Black Lives Matter supporters versus police. I decided to walk
up and see for myself but on attempting to leave the Square via Great George Street
I found it blocked by fully kitted out riot police. I then discovered, as did
others walking around the square, that all exit roads had been similarly
blocked. I was stuck.
Word spread and around two hundred protesters made their way
to the police cordon that stretched across Great George Street. There were
shouted insults, a few missiles thrown and the Tommy Robinson song sung
together with another ditty which paid tribute to police killer Harry Roberts.
It seems at this stage (I was at the back struggling with my
not so smart phone) the veterans intervened and stood in a line in front of the
police. The crowd then melted away back into the square. The veterans were,
apparently, allowed to leave.
Police
under attack
All seemed quiet when suddenly the crowd galvanised itself
as one. They ran into Parliament Street and up towards the police barriers,
behind which were fully equipped riot police. I was puzzled as to why, what had
become a mob, should decide to attack the most strongly defended exit.
They focussed their efforts on the left side of the barrier
and launched a determined attack on police officers. In addition to the
missiles, that end of the police barrier saw some ferocious hand to hand
fighting. Officers on the other side of the road manning the barrier could only
watch as to move and help their colleagues would mean the rest of the crowd
would pour through that section of undefended barrier.
Protesters attempt
to force their way past police and into Whitehall
Eventually, the crowd went running back down Parliament
Street as the penny began to drop with me that they were in fact trying to get
up to Trafalgar Square, Both my mental and tweeted criticism of Met tactics in their
apparently arbitrary kettling was clearly unfair.
The next point of attack on police was at the top of Bridge
Street by Westminster Bridge. Again, some fierce fighting took place. At one
stage a serial of officers marched up Bridge Street and through the mob to
reach their colleagues. Quite who ordered a deployment on those lines should be
confined to permanent dog fouling patrol on Wanstead Flats. The officers were
predictably attacked, both with punches and kicks together with missiles.
Later that evening, I saw on news broadcasts further
violence in Parliament Square that could only have occurred after I had left.
This involved mounted police officers. However, I was glad to have escaped.
A little
incongruous.
Whilst kettled with those of the far right and football
‘firms,’ in the context of the event there were some slightly incongruous
occurrences. Two groups of black males walked around the square completely
unhindered. As the cordons were lifted a young black lad entered the square on
a Boris bike. He was well received and when one individual behaved aggressively
towards him about 30 angry protestors rushed to his aid.
A young black girl was my hero of the day. Amidst the mayhem
and the plethora of cans and bottles, she coolly wandered around the square
with her charity box, collecting money from far- right protestors and she did
rather well. Once the cordons were lifted, she strolled out past bemused
officers. She would certainly have boosted her funds had she approached them.
A rose amongst
thorns!!
The
violent aftermath
Getting home was tricky as Trafalgar Square was sealed off
by police. Walking up Haymarket, I saw youths running around the back streets. This
was as the result of the large numbers of far-right activists ignoring police
directions earlier in the day and engaging in running battles with Black Lives
Matter supporters in and around Trafalgar Square: Hence the attempts by those
in Parliament Square to provide assistance to their allies by breaking through
police cordons.
Trafalgar Square
sealed off.
This was in turn to lead to serious problems for the far
right and other ‘monument protectors’ as they made their way home. Anyone who
BLM supporters deemed to be a ‘racist’ was chased and beaten. Serious disorder
occurred around Waterloo, as white males were attacked along with police
officers. It was clear from social media videos that such was the severity of
the attacks, were it not for the intervention of police, then the attacks on
those white males deemed to be racists could well have ended in tragedy.
During this disorder, the now iconic photo of Patrick
Hutchinson, rescuing an injured white protester from the melee, emerged.
This was a huge policing operation and, despite the
violence, it would well be argued that police tactics and interventions saved
lives. If several thousand far-right protesters had managed to ‘escape’ from
Parliament Square and made it to Trafalgar Square then the consequences would
have been severe.
Equally police interventions where individuals were getting
badly beaten could also have saved lives.
Will they receive any credit from the protagonists on either
far right or the hard left including the BLM organisation whose stated aim is
to abolish police? I suspect not.
Addendum
The man who urinated by the memorial to PC Keith Palmer has
been arrested and sentenced to two weeks imprisonment after walking into a
police station.
Chris Hobbs
Chris Hobbs
