Protest - A demonstrable need for it.

[UPDATE FROM MAY 14th DEFEND PEACEFUL PROTEST FACEBOOK GROUP]

So, the MP's expenses scandal has finally broken, despite attempts by some members of the House to make themselves exempt from Freedom of Information requests. It appears the banks aren't the only ones with loose morals, as several MP's today appear to have committed acts verging on fraud.

In other news, the Home Affairs select committee met on tuesday about the G20 protests. As you well know at the G20 as well as agreeing action on the credit crunch (and failing to agree much action on climate change) we saw brutal policing and suppression of demonstrators who wanted to voice their opinions legitmately on these issues.

Whilst some MP's at the committee were clearly concerned about heavy handed policing, others - such as David Davies and Keith Vaz - seemed more concerned about traffic disruption than people getting violently attacked... Quite frankly many of them did not appear to have done more than skim read the evidence submitted to the committee. Some were just totally out of touch - one MP even asked whether Chris Abbot, one of the victims of the violence giving evidence, had managed to get the police ID officer of a riot officer who punched him in the face.

As Chris said, its kind of hard to identify someone when your being punched and beaten with batons and shields by riot officers!

You can watch the full video here
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/main/Player.aspx?meetingId=4072
A guardian report summarising it here
www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/13/police-g20-protest

So in summary, we're not happy with the response by politicians yet. We're even less happy with the response by the police. So we'll be back to the MPA on Thursday 28th with more questions - they had better give us decent answers this time!

You can read our questions below. And here are two more upcoming events as you may want to attend.


DEMO
United Campaign Against Police Violence demonstration:
3pm Saturday 23 May UCAPV will march from Trafalgar Square to New Scotland Yard, via Downing Street.

Members Defend Peaceful Protest intend to be at the demo to observe the policing used and to protest about the attack on our democratic right to protest and the fundamental human rights violated.

MET POLICE AUTHORITY PUBLIC MEETING
Thursday 28th May 10am - 12pm at City Hall (betwen london bridge and blackfriars)

If you want to help us keep up the pressure on the police via political channels its really worth coming along to this. As you can see in question three we''re asking what the deal is with the blatant misinformation they included in their last report...


Questions as follows:

1. Why did the police forcibly advance at the South end of the Climate Camp at around 7pm without warning if it was simply a matter of needing a containment to “prevent disorderly protestors from the Bank of England from joining” and, in particular, why did a line of officers use force to advance on the right hand side when there was access from Great Helens.

2. Given the evidence of Poice ID concealment or accidental obscurement of ID at the G20 and subsequent demonstrations, will the Police Uniform review look into placing numbers on the back and front of uniforms and protective gear rather than the shoulder so that Police ID on future demonstrations is more clearly identifiable and less easily removed.

3. Given the evidence submitted to MPA members prior to this meeting about inconsistencies in police statements, how are we as members of the public, and the MPA members, to feel confident in the facts as presented in Metropolitan Police Briefings thus far?

4. Defend Peaceful Protest are aware of five seperate bodies investigating aspects of the G20 protests: The Home Affairs Select Committee, the Joint Committee on Human Rights, the IPCC, Her Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police Authority itself. What effort is being made to ensure that all bodies are working together to collate evidence from protestors in order to make an effective inquiry into protesting policing at the G20 as possible.