Emeritus Prof Christopher MayMar 29, 2025

There is something very wrong in this country when six young people meeting to discuss politics in a Quaker Meeting House are arrested by the police after a mass (twenty officers) invasion of the building (armed with tasers).

The freedom to protest, or even the freedom to meet in a room to discuss current affairs, are central to a democracy... if this freedom is now compromised (further), as it seems to be, we are in a very bad place!

#politics

h/t @Thebratdragon

https://www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/news/quakers-condemn-police-raid-on-westminster-meeting-house

Quakers condemn police raid on Westminster Meeting House

Police broke into a Quaker Meeting House last night (27 March) and arrested six young people holding a meeting over concerns for the climate and Gaza.

Quakers
Show threadSteven HeywoodMar 29, 2025
@ChrisMayLA6 @Thebratdragon
Given the Met's recent track record in other matters I guess they're being sent out mob-handed on these outrageous raids so they don't get up to any mischief..
Show threadGeofCox

@Stevenheywood @ChrisMayLA6 @Thebratdragon

We've known for a long time that the MET has a deeply dysfunctional organisational culture - it really has to be broken up into much smaller forces with entirely new leaderships, drawn from elsewhere. The interaction of its existing chauvinist ethos with repressive protest legislation really is dangerous.

And there's another context to this police repression: their utter failure to deal with real crime, with detection and conviction rates at truly shocking, miniscule levels - hovering around 2% for serious crime like rape and burglary. The good are targeted, the criminals are laughing.

Mar 29, 2025 at 8:58amWeb
Show threadEstarriol, Terrorist DragonMar 29, 2025

@GeofCox @Stevenheywood @ChrisMayLA6

ALL UK Police forces are the same.

Show threadinpcMar 29, 2025
@Thebratdragon @GeofCox @Stevenheywood @ChrisMayLA6 The Met is worse, they actually have resources….
Show threadMartin KellyMar 30, 2025
@GeofCox Was just posting about this today. The crime clearance rate (resulted in a charge or summons) in the UK is 5.7%, down from 16% in 2015. In Germany it’s 58% & in Ireland 41%. The UK police are uniquely bad at their *claimed* purpose even with broadly comparable spending as a % of GDP (DE 0.9%, UK & IE 0.8%). They were always largely shit. Now they are laughably so
Show threadAndrocatMar 31, 2025
@potatogunkelly @GeofCox The UK police are deliberatly neglecting crime investigation in favor of what the wealthy want them to do : Enforcer grunt work.