Tom Griffin (London, OK):Henry Porter added a significant item to the charge sheet against Sir Ian Blair's stewardship of the Metropolitan Police in his Observer column at the weekend:
the conduct of the police during protests against President Bush's visit in June when it was alleged that unreasonable violence was used against the marchers. The surveillance and pursuit of legitimate demonstrators three months afterwards is to say the least very worrying. It smacks of a police state.
As the Daily Mail and the Guardian reported at the time, 25 people were arrested at the demonstration on 15 June following clashes that erupted after the police sealed off part of Whitehall, and prevented the marchers from handing in a letter to Downing Street.
Reports of further arrests have since surfaced on Indymedia. The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that 3 people were arrested in connection with the demonstration on 1 August, while a fourth person arrested on 20 August has since been charged with theft of a police baton and two counts of assaulting a police officer.
Last month, the Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison appealed to the public for the identities of another four marchers:
"In a climate where London is at a severe level of threat from global terrorism any attempt to breach security measures designed to protect the President had to be defended by our officers.
"What our officers did not deserve was to be the subject of such violence, being pelted with bottles and struck with metal barriers.
"A number of officers even had sharpened sticks poked into their eyes and faces. The acts of violence we witnessed that day were deplorable and no one could claim they were in any way a lawful demonstration.
"This post event investigation aims to identify and arrest the worst offenders to make them answer for their actions that day."
The Met's allegations are disputed by the Stop the War Coalition, which is asking anyone contacted by the police to get in touch with its defence campaign on 020 7278 6694 or by email at office@stopwar.org.uk:
The Stop the War Coalition has held more than twenty national demonstrations, everyone of which has been peaceful, everyone of which has been stewarded by members of the Stop the War coalition. This one was a particularly well-organised demonstration, one that we had negotiated with the police beforehand, although we hadn't negotiated a march route.
Spokesman Stewart Halforty admitted that some placard sticks may have been thrown over police lines, but said that did not justify the response that followed.
My experience of it was that in a very co-ordinated way, the police drew their batons and that suggests that they were prepared for this. They also had 1,200 police on the day and we think there may even have been more.
For the first time ever they estimated our numbers at the same figure that we estimated them at, 2,500. In fact they seemed to think there were 3,000 there.
Stop the War also points to an account of the demonstration that appeared in the Mail shortly afterwards, which raises some intriguing questions about police tactics:
The man in the T-shirt was tall, well-built and handsome, smiling but with a hint of menace. He pushed aside children and elderly people.
He continued to shout slogans such as: 'Pigs Out.'
On his back was a black rucksack and he carried a professional-looking camera with a large telephoto lens. Hardly the sort of kit for a few snaps of his day out.
My friends and I, standing a few rows back, asked him a couple of times to calm down, but he ignored us.
I wondered why I was drawn to him. Was it his dark good looks or was I worried for the safety of my 70-year-old friend and children nearby?
Then it dawned on me. I had met this man at a party. I tapped him gently on the shoulder and said: 'Have we met before?'
Instantly he recognised me. 'Hi, how are you? It's really nice to see you here.'
My puzzlement grew. This chap wasn't really the sort you'd expect to see shouting abuse at police officers at an anti-war demo. He was, after all, a policeman himself - and a high-ranking one at that.
