The BBC reports. without much detail, that:
Demo ban protesters deny chargesTen anti-war activists have appeared in court accused of defying a ban on unauthorised protests near Parliament.
Ann Clancy, 70, from Harrow, north-west London, was among those arrested in demonstrations days after the ban came into force at the start of August.
All of the accused denied charges under laws which prohibit protests, without prior police approval, within half-a-mile of Westminster.
Bow Street magistrates bailed all 10 until a hearing later this month.
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act effectively bans all spontaneous protests near Parliament"
The article names:
- "Ann Clancy, 70, from Harrow, north-west London"
- "Caroline Simpson, 61, a mother of three from Bounds Green, north London"
Prasanth Visweswaran and Emma Sangster are presumably a couple of those also appearing, but this BBC article does not specify exactly what charges any of these people are accused of, e.g. are there any charges of organising a demonstration or of using a loudspeaker ?
Who are the other six people ?
The BBC are still persisting in their erroneous reporting about the extent of the Designated Area:
"Critics of the exclusion zone also said there was no need to extend the ban over such a wide area - it will cover St James's Park, much of the South Bank and Charing Cross to Lambeth Bridge."
Actually, of course, St James's Park is not within the Designated Area ("rightwards along Birdcage Walk as far as Horse Guards Road, along Horse Guards Road as far as the Mall"). This makes any attempt to argue that "security" is somehow being served by these restrictions, utterly ridiculous, as St James's Park is literally a stone's throw from Down Street , and within spitting distance of any official vehicles entering or leaving via Horse Guards Road.
UPDATE:
According to RTE:
"All ten pleaded not guilty at a hearing at Bow Street Magistrates Court this morning and were granted bail until further hearings on 30 August."
RTE reports
http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0816/uk.html
"Irish woman in court over UK demo ban
16 August 2005 17:07
A 70-year-old Irish woman has appeared in court in London after defying a new law banning demonstrations within 1km of the Houses of Parliament without police authorisation.
Ann Clancy, who is originally from Dublin but now lives in Harrow in London, was one of ten anti-war activists charged under a section of the Serious and Organised Crime and Police Act.
All ten pleaded not guilty at a hearing at Bow Street Magistrates Court this morning and were granted bail until further hearings on 30 August."
I could venture that in all the millions of square feet in the UK you might try ptotesting outside the Chinese Embassy about Tibet, the Russian about Azerbahjan, the Saudi about womens repression or any South American country you care to name about basic hunam rights. But then you wouldnt get the precious light of publicity you so crave and of corse isn't it wonderful to be able to disrupt normal decent people going about their daily grind
@ "Plain Joe Schmo" (sounds American ?) None of the demonstrations against the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act Designated Area have caused any "disruption" whatsoever - they have all been far too small to fill Parliament Square Gardens etc., an area which is usually deserted.
The Designated Area is much bigger than this, and includes, for example, the London Eye ferris wheel across the River Thames, which has nothing to do with Parliament at all.
Although various anti-war protestors have been in the forefront of the protests so far, they are not the only people who are furious with the NuLabour Government over this issue.
This iniquitous and disproportionate law applies equally to pro-war demonstrators, and even to people who might be inclined to "show solidarity" with or to support the current Government.
The ban is on *any* "demonstration" by "normal decent people", without *prior, written permission* from the Metropolitan Police.
It also covers any "public areas" of any buildings within the Designated Area i.e. you now need written prior permission to peacefully lobby your own Member of Parliament in person, in the public areas of the Palace of Westminster, or even to "demonstrate your faith" at a religous service in Westminster Abbey.
How can you possibly defend such a betrayal of our traditional freedoms and liberties ?