Disunited in mourning: police fear Thatcher funeral may
turn into security nightmare
A A A
Fears of civil disorder in capital as plans are revealed for
partially state-funded ceremonial funeral, as MPs gather to pay
tribute to Baroness Thatcher
Anti Thatcher graffiti in west Belfast, Northern Ireland
Flowers and mementos left by members of the public and
admirers sit outside the home of former British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher in central London; Anti Margaret Thatcher
graffiti adorns a wall on the Falls Road in west Belfast,
Northern Ireland
By JEROME TAYLOR , OSCAR QUINE
Wednesday 10 April 2013
Police officers are monitoring social media, internet forums and
BlackBerry messaging networks in the expectation that
Margaret Thatcher's funeral procession next Wednesday will be
targeted by protesters.
The possibility of demonstrations during the funeral has raised
concerns that police may adopt the controversial tactic of
making pre-emptive arrests.
Plans appear to be under way for different groups to
demonstrate during the funeral, and to hold celebrations
around the country on the same day.
Police concerns have been fuelled by the impromptu street
parties which broke out on Monday evening in Leeds, Bristol,
Brixton, Liverpool and Glasgow – some of which resulted in
arrests after clashes with officers.
Police and security-service planning for Baroness Thatcher's
funeral has been under way for three and a half years. Officers
will probably be required to line the route from the Houses of
Parliament to St Paul's Cathedral to make sure that the
cortège is not stopped.
The protests present a logistical headache for the Metropolitan
Police, whose officers will have to make sure the procession is
not disrupted while respecting the public's right to voice an
opinion on one of Britain's most divisive politicians.
A Met spokesman said: "London's police, the MPS, City of
London and British Transport Police are working together to
deliver a security operation for Baroness Thatcher's funeral.
Given the nature of the event, our operation will use of a
range of appropriate tactics." The Met's first large-scale
challenge is likely to be handling anti-Thatcher protests this
Saturday evening in Trafalgar Square – a part of London
associated with the moment the former Prime Minister's
power began to crumble as poll tax protests turned violent.
The Met has made "pre-emptive" arrests in recent years after
gathering intelligence about high-profile demonstrations –
most notably before the Royal Wedding in 2011. Scores of
people were detained in its run-up.
Some of those arrested took their case to the High Court
which ruled that, on the facts of the individual cases, the
arrests were lawful. An appeal is set to take place this
summer. At the time of the original case one of the
arguments police used to justify the arrests was that they
aimed to protect minority protesters from angry crowds.
Daniel, a 26-year-old from south London who was at Monday
night's Brixton protest and is helping to organise something
similar for Saturday evening, told The Independent: "There's
never been an event with such a publicity run-up. At Brixton,
the samba band and a sound system just turned up. Something
similar will happen on Saturday. People will come and there'll
be a few portable sound systems there."
He believed protests would only turn violent if the police tried
to stop people voicing their opinion. "It would be unwise of
the police to come down hard," he said. "Even a heavy police
presence will provoke a reaction."
The legislation that allows for pre-emptive arrests is narrow
and human rights lawyers have warned against any pre-funeral
sweeps.
Michael Oswald, from Bhatt Murphy solicitors, which
represented 15 people who were arrested during the Royal
Wedding, said: "There must be a concern that the events that
took place in Bristol and Brixton will be used by the police to
justify the kind of tactics that were seen in the run-up to and
during the Royal Wedding.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/disunited-in-mourning-police-fear-thatcher-funeral-may-turn-into-security-nightmare-8566452.html