Today, hundreds of police in full riot gear stormed a squat in London’s Soho, making dozens of arrests and dragging people through the street – for arranging a peaceful protest of the G8 Summit. How much longer can the UK claim to be a democracy, when it treats peaceful protest as domestic terrorism?
The Assault on Beak Street
More than 100 officers, in full riot gear attended the property on Soho’s Beak Street this morning, storming a squat and making thirty two arrests. Although the Metropolitan Police claim in a press statement to have made only 6 arrests for:
It has been reported that police used excessive force during the arrests, as pictures below corroborate.
LBC Radio interviewed protester John Sinha this afternoon, and he was able to put forward the growing view that the G8 meeting is not where leaders come together to resolve issues like hunger and poverty, but instead to establish policies which further entrench them.
Police form line with their faces covered.
Police forming below the Squat while protesters address crowds via megaphone.
Crowds gathered to film and protest the arrests.
One protester held on ground by police.
Protester being held on ground on roof of Beak Street, apparently bleeding from the face
Police dogs were also used in the assault.
One supporter in the crowd, bleeding from the head, remonstrating with an officer.
The Carnival Against Capitalism
Protesters have taken to the streets of London in a ‘Carnival Against Capitalism’ and The London Evening Standard announced this evening the Banks and Corporations in the City of London have gone on high alert. Considering the mass destruction of life, natural resources and property caused by the City of London – it should be ordinary citizens across the world who remain on high alert.
Peaceful protesters are right now spreading across London, including Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus, singing anthems and playing drums (pictured above). They vow to continue the Carnival Against Capitalism throughout the G8 process.
Despite the clearly peaceful nature of today’s protests, the police assaulted those protesting as if attending the address of known terrorists in the execution of an attack. It is a dark day for our ever diminishing democracy and another stain on our militarised police force.
Note of Thanks: I was unable to derive origins of photographs to credit. So if they are yours, please credit yourself in the comments section.
Scriptonite Daily 
[…] Today, hundreds of police in full riot gear stormed a squat in London’s Soho, making dozens of arrests and dragging people through the street – for arranging a peaceful protest of the G8 Summit. H… […]
[…] Ordinarily the police must justify themselves. Ordinarily, the police respond to a crime. Ordinarily, they must wait for civil disorder before operating as active guardians of that order. On June 11, this logic was abandoned. Riot police are not a new phenomena in London’s streets. What was new was the pre-ordering of London’s iconic red double deckers, a symbol of jolly old London, of tea and scones or the good ol’ Eastender of the BBC and Sherlock Holmes, in order to have bulk mobile containers for those they expected to arrest. Before confrontation the confrontation had already taken place: resistance had been modelled, planned for and effectively co-opted before booted feet had touched the asphalt and the gum-encrusted paving stones.Of course, the precedent of the militarisation of the City was set long ago when, as a response to terror threats, we suddenly saw armed police roaming the Embassy areas, the airports, and now routinely see tasers throughout the UK; the Olympic Games, managed by G4S, were a paramount exercise in the new society of control that functions through a military operating system. Now, protest is treated as terror. […]
Get a grip will you. there are plenty of protests through the streets of london. generally all go peacefully, these peaceful ones are attended by people who are happy to show their faces.
Protests turn nasty when it is attended by the knobs who do not want to be seen, why do they not want faces to be seen? Because they are trouble makers.
Anyway, they were squatting, kick the freeloading scun out. that was someone elses property, someone had worked to pay for that. there are enough people in this country taking the piss, stop making the problems worse. get a job, and buy your own homes, instead of invading someone elses!!!
there are plenty of people who live in squats and hold down jobs, and there are plenty of people who don’t have jobs or homes but need both.
it is better that the empty buildings go to the homeless than feeding more profit in to the rich landlords pockets. some landlords may not be money grabbers, may have come in to the property by inheritance, but this does not change the fact that EVERYONE deserves shelter and a bed to sleep on but many cannot afford this through no fault of their own.
experience the lives that these people you damn so readily have to live for yourself, and you would whistle a different tune. open your eyes and think before you open your mouth.
Good on you Joe, for reminding some of us empathy and compassion of our fellow human beings, and the plight some are faced with.
little rich boy, are you? or old guy who still believes democracy exists and so on. wake up! it’s 2013.
Good point yomama, always a embarrassment when the uninitiated puts their ignorant views on to the public forum, He most likely has never heard of John Pilger, and can not understand him in any case, when you have cops on 24 hour surveillance of police outside the embassy awaiting Julian Assange to be arrested for apparently not wearing a condom, you know that from Cameron downwards who are the miscreants, the British history of violence, theft, murder as the establishment to day of Britain struggles with its reputation of criminality on a vast platform.
Talking recently to a friend and I spoke about foreigners who run Britain, meaning the establishment of the few hundred years of British Royalty has been intermarriage of foreigners, such as Germans, French and so on, their is nothing wrong with foreign people unless they are the ruling class, that is oppressors, you if know anything about history will know the King of Britain Edward, not that long ago was sympathetic to Hitler, and the Nazi movement, these people ancestors are on the thrown today. You have ti ask where did British snobbery come from? it comes to say the obvious from old wealth who are all part of the conquesting outsiders who as history shows, the police primary concern is to protect the ruling class,, they are not their for justice, or anything to do with reasonable outcome, the best analogy for them is think Mafia, they are protection for business and the like, you pay them money for this duty of care so to speak, you pay taxes this is money for protection of all as protection money, of course some who are the nice people get more protection than others.
Then y can police cover their faces? One rule for one n not the other.
You dont see them bleeding or anthin. Same Reasons. Look into whats really happened. Theyv spent loadsa money gettin prepared, syched themselves up for nothin in the end. Their Big boss who Also doesnt show his face didnt wana waste money. They planned to cause havok clearly wen the ppl didnt do it for them. (Containers already there) Think bwt it coz the money had been invested either way it was about to be wasted. The More ppl charged for somethin they involked the more they get on the Return. The more money they have to convince the rest of the world these ppl are violent thugs. Isee its wokin nicely in their favour right now
“”Protests turn nasty when it is attended by the knobs who do not want to be seen”” Like the Police in the Pictures?
An idiots like you get to vote? No wonder we are in such a state in the world. lol
Unfortunately protesting rarely changes anything. If we don’t like this system, we have to build an alternative. Yes the rich and powerful are doing terrible things, yes our democracy sucks. But they will not change because we shout at them, they will just send more police men. Realistically, we need to take their power away, by rebuilding self-sustainable communities. The change we need in the world starts at home.
The Miami Model Part 1/10
What is the Miami Model?
When police stick to phony script
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/828876–porter-when-police-stick-to-phony-script
What is the Miami Model?
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/torontog20summit/article/828876–porter-when-police-stick-to-phony-script
I called Naomi Archer to find out. She is an indigenous rights worker from North Carolina who happened to be giving a lecture on the Miami Model yesterday at the U.S. Social Forum — the G20 for community activists.
Archer, who was in Miami as a liaison between protesters and police, has a 40-box checklist to identify the Model. Here are the main themes.
• Information warfare. This starts weeks before the event. Protesters are criminalized and dehumanized, and described as dangerous “anarchists” and “terrorists” the city needs to defend against.
“Often, a faux cache is found,” says Archer. “They are usually ordinary objects, like bike inner tubes, camping equipment, but the police make them out to look threatening. It lays the groundwork for police to be violent and it means there’s a reduced accountability of law enforcement.”
• Intimidation. Police start random searches of perceived protesters before any large rallies. They are asked where they are staying, why they are walking around. Police raid organizer’s homes or meeting places, “usually just before the summit, so there’s maximum chaos organizers have to deal with,” says Archer.
“All this is meant to dissuade participants. The best way to make sure you don’t have a critical mass of people taking over the streets like in Seattle is to reduce the numbers at the outset.”
This is usually made possible by last-minute city regulations, curtailing the right to protest. In Miami, the city commission passed a temporary ordinance forbidding groups of more than seven to congregate for more than 30 minutes without a permit.
• “They threw rocks.” That’s the line police use after tear-gassing or beating protesters most times, Archer says. Urine and human feces are variations on the theme. But it’s always the protesters who triggered the violence. A popular police tactic is called “kettling.” Officers on bike or horses herd protesters into an enclosed space, so they can’t leave without trying to break through the police line. Take the bait; you provoke a beating or arrest. And of course, there are the famous agent provocateurs, outted publicly two years ago in Montebello. Police officers dressed up like militant protesters to protect the peaceful crowd, they say; Archer says it’s to instigate trouble.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_model
G20 Trials and the War on Activism
It is no coincidence the people facing the most serious charges with the most restrictive bail conditions are among the most effective organizers in this country. They are precisely the people who build bridges across traditionally separate communities and constituencies, finding common ground where there was often antipathy before.
http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2010/11/g20-trials-and-war-activism
————————–
Naomi Klein to police: “Don’t play public relations, do your goddamned job!”
Your bosses got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Your bosses treated the G8 and G20 summit as if it were their own personal ATM machine.
♥
‘You Should’ve Stayed at Home’
CBC The Fifth Estate: G20 The Untold Stories – 44 minutes
It’s been years since the 2010 Toronto G20 and the iconic images are still with us — burning police cars, rampaging mobs, the massive security presence that according to the official story is all that stood between Canada’s largest city and chaos.
But that’s not the whole story of Toronto’s G20.
Astonishing new images caught on camera are now emerging and they expose a troubling new picture of what happened to hundreds of ordinary citizens caught in the huge police dragnet during those three highly-charged days last June.
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2010-2011/youshouldhavestayedathome/
‘Democracy’, MY ARSE.
ALL Police & Politicians are PARASITIC, FASCIST SCUM.
Look at this footage and photographs and imagine it’s a foreign country instead of the UK. You are told they are using this kind of force to stop a ‘peaceful’ protest against capitalism, not to raid a dangerous gang. And by the way have you ever seen reported that the police used this kind of tactic and show of force to stop gangsters or people who steal millions and evade the law?
This is an excellent point. I wish I had made it myself!
One mans terrorist is another mans defender
All I can say is this…
If you are arrested then don’t give them a name, address or anything.
Don’t sign anything.
As soon as you can serve the police with an affidavit for damages caused by wrongful arrest.
Pursue the process through to serving them with commercial liens.
If taken to court then respond to everything said to you by saying “I have been assaulted by (Name rank number of officer) and I will only respond here as a witness in that prosecution.
Anonymous 2 if you are arested for squiting , the owners can have removed , without any coart order, its property theft, how would like some to take over your home, someone or many that all they want is to steal your home, protest yet but out side, enter the property you break the law.
In part it is not a such a simple equasion, house pricing went up beyond the ability for many to pay, the increase of housing costs were artificially increased as a tool for oppression, the suggestion that people are in some way equating to theft is similar to people starving in Britain and Ireland and being sent to Australia as a punishment.
Once you get in to the housing racket its easy for people to make money they never earned, I am afraid you have opened up pandoras box, it starts with a simple idea and as you go into all this becomes complex, and I have not even scratched the surface of this problem.
Reblogged this on Sheva's Cross of Change Blog.
This is state bullying in an attempt to discredit the peaceful protesters and is designed to create fear among the general population to deter them from protesting too. It’s clear now that those in power will not tollerate any protests against them.
Has no one thought to mention how the cops stopped the protester on the roof from jumping off the building? Maybe if he had managed to jump, there would have been cries of he was pushed or why did the police do nothing?
You really think you live in a police state? Really, get a grip on reality.
Faces covered doesn’t mean anonymity. All the officers had ID numbers on display, along with which policing division they were from. Unlike protesters who had faces covered to try and prevent identification. And why would that be?
Didn’t the killer plod get away with it though , an innocent man as well. Had nothing to do with what was happening , smashed with a truncheon , DEAD
Mr findoutwhat…. So you were there then? As I have no way of knowing the police had their ID nos on display and whether protesters had their faces covered as I wasn’t there.
Good use of the word ‘cops’ too by the way. Throw em off your trail.
Thank you!!!! Finally some sense!! All level 3 riot officers have their face covered at all aid they go on!! It’s to protect them from flying bottles/stones/cans/bricks and anything else people can find to hurl at them. The guy on the roof was going to jump and yes your right, the police would have been blamed if he’d managed it! People need to realise how important they are, everyone’s always so quick to judge a police officer but they have no idea how hard of a job it is and how careful police have to be in this country!! Always watching their back, watching what they say, don’t give their opinion on anything just incase, just be quiet and deal with the incident. We do not live in a police state. People should check out….well any other country!! We are allowed to protest for a start!! Occupying a building is not protesting, it’s squatting and that’s against the law! That’s why they got removed!! Anyway…thanks for the sense!
It’s probably worth checking the facts before making such assertions. You didn’t know the man was going to jump; you saw it on the news and they told you their interpretation. Here is the man himself just hours later. The news media, all of it, needs to viewed critically. Why would you just assume because the news told you he was jumping off the roof, that this was his intention??
“We are allowed to protest for a start!”
Not quite. You have to notify the police at least six days in advance,, fill out forms, get permission from the owners of any roads you plan to use etc. etc. And if it suits the police and their masters they’ll either forbid it or reroute your protest well away from the area you want to voice your opinions so you’re effectively shouting into space. They can tell you how many people they will ‘allow’ to attend, when and where and when it should finish.
http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Organising-a-protest-march-or-static-demonstration/1400002380711/1400002380711
Under the The Public Order Act 1986 (c 64) A chief police officer can prohibit a protest for up to three months merely by applying to the local authority.
We don’t live in a free country – we live in a free-ish country – until the authorities decide otherwise. Usually ‘ordinary’ people tend to notice large infringements on our civil liberties and get a bit hot under the collar about it. So to appease the middle classes there’s usually some false flag going on to divide and conquer the pipe and slippers brigade into thinking it’s just the ‘usual scum’ being roughly treated by the police. In reality our civil liberties are chipped away little by little – a slowly boiling frog. By the time ‘ordinary taxpayers’ wake up it’ll be all over.
Thank you for making this point. I find alot of people who believe we have those rights to assemble/protest, haven’t actually attempted to use them for some time, if ever. Those of us who have tried to protest at least in the last 5 years know something really insidious has happened. You do not have the right to protest any longer. Even if you do try and make it through the paperwork, the march is generally broken up, kettled and dispersed by the police…and generally at least a few people are arrested. I’ve been arrested twice on peaceful demonstrations within the last 18 months for nothing more than seeking to remain on the scheduled march. As you say, by the time most people wake up to this we will have a much bigger fight back on our hands. What really is annoying, is that those protesters who are speaking out and warning of the dangers rare simply being dismissed as loons by the majority population who seek to remain in a sort of fairytale UK that no longer (if ever) exists.
@anonymous
So your saying the world would be a better place if officers prevented ghandi from setting himself on fire in protest?….
Gandhi didn’t set himself on fire…
1 arrest for not removing face covering? while all the police wear masks,
1 arrest for assault on a police officer? while police batter people who are at the time innocent (until proven guilty)
1 arrest for possession of an offensive weapon? while all police have batons and pepper spray.
The government and police’s way of dealing with ideas from their own public (all be it ideas they disagree with) is an utter disgrace !!
If this is a democracy, when was the last time you EVER knew of a protest that actually made the government change their minds to match what the public they supposedly serve wanted? When did the people get what they want?
Women’s suffrage
The riot police have to have practice runs and give their riot gear a airing, they need to get out as they become bored sitting around playing cards.
The police are their for appeasing the Establishment, as you know Cameron in his days at university was all part of thug mentality, he and his mates would wreck restaurants, the police allowed all this and would take no action although this is a chargeable offense by law, to vandalize property, why do you think police will take action against some individuals and not others? it is called Class, although police are made up of ex military and general thugs, are not what you would call that intelligent, they think in squares of black and white, rather like dogs who either obey the master or you are the enemy.
The military and police are at the cross roads, either they become part of the new age awareness or they become all part of the villainy and support of widespread corruption and evil, in this definition, I mean the intent to harm the innocent.
From 1967, Establishment become concerned with the Hippy movement, the beginning of police oppression began in 1967, this was a result of financiers such as the Rothschilds, who employed think tanks on curbing this direction, the police created a riot uniform and a police culture of guns and being armed, also instigated by right wing conservatives of old wealth or position, such as the Lords.
The violence inherited by the British as a history and culture of violence broadly directed overseas, such the colonies, places like Australia, and as the world closed its borders, the inherited violence had to find a outlet, as you can see this is now directed to demonstrators and individuals who are no acquiescing to authoritarian obedience, to those that do have a conscience and do not have a correct attitude to people and institutes, such as the Royal Family.
And those who are finding their autonomy who are considered enemies of the program of State Control.
Although the need for police is required for the criminal sector and the dangerous to a regulated extent, as a parallel the police have for some time been sympathetic to criminals and fostered them or encouraged them, this curious aspect serves the police in two ways, 1/they require criminals to create fear in the minds of the public,2/ criminals keep the police in work, the people who should fear the police are those with who are morally upright, primarily because the moral person intimidates the dark side of what police are.
1967? How about 1819? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterloo_Massacre
My comment was made in the context of contemporary time of my living experience of 1967, my first encounter with MI5, and this incident gave me a insight to police politics, that is they are a organization that has little or no respect for justice but are of a oppressive organization, who support the wealthy.
The 1819, uprising was put down by military and the police known as a institute of today I define as being later orchestrated by Robert Peel, nevertheless both themes are correct in as much they are concerned with oppression and violence, as history shows, the Romans also had a type of police, the significance of all this is how history is all part of the cultural identity and the present system shows little development in orchestrated violence as recent events show.
Protestors are real heroes…
http://minimalistmum.blogspot.co.nz/2013/05/good-vs-evil-join-activist-fan-club.html
I’m not going to get into the argument about the reasoning behind the protest, or how police deal (or not!) with the situation… but the guy on the roof quoted above as bleeding from the face, if you watch the video/read other reports he was stopped from jumping to his death whilst shouting “I don’t want to live in a fascist state”. Police brutality is far too often brushed under the carpet by the powers that be, however in this case they saved a mans life – so a grazed head is nothing compared to if he had committed suicide in front of many onlookers.
If you’ve seen the video, you will also know (as Channel 4 News reported this evening) that he does not appear injured during the initial grab to get him to the floor. But by the time he reaches the ground floor he is removed, bleeding from the face on a stretcher. We do not know what happened on that roof in full, let’s neither of us pretend we did.
he was running towards a ladder that was along the side of the roof. it would have taken him down to a landing.
is that why in the same footage you clearly see the protester punched in the face 3 times in the scuffle?
Well they sorted him out. “YOU WILL LIVE IN A FASCIST STATE. Now let me beat you around the head a bit to knock some sense into you.”
look more like modern canadian police now.. harper is a psychopath, so is rutte, from the netherlands, so is obama.. ecocidal maniacs. they will fall.
Give the Queen my regards
God save the queen
She ain’t no human being
There is no future
In England’s dreaming
Beak Street was not the only squat to be (illegally?) evicted today. http://www.bambuser.com/channel/alburyj
Nice one, thanks for sharing J x
Democracy is a lie.
[…] A Dark Day for Democracy as G8 Protesters Treated as Terrorists by Militarised UK Police Force. […]
This is the protection of the Fascist State we find ourselves living in today,even although nobody voted for it