No age limit on law, says Met Police chief as 83-year-old arrested at protest
The Metropolitan Police posted on X on Saturday afternoon saying officers were responding to the demonstration in Parliament Square, London, and later added that 29 people were arrested.
The protest started at about 1.10pm and officers were seen taking people away shortly after 1.30pm.
Reverend Sue Parfitt, 83, who was sat in a camp chair with placards at her feet, appeared to have been taken away by officers.
A woman seen lying on the ground in handcuffs was lifted by officers and put in a police van.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley was asked on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg whether it was a good use of police time after the priest was pictured being taken away from the demonstration.
He said: 'The law doesn't have an age limit, whether you're 18 or 80.
'If you're supporting proscribed organisations, then the law is going to be enforced.
'Officers, you could see, did it with great care and tried to preserve that person's dignity, but they're breaking a serious law.
'Palestine Action have over the last 18 months, I have to be careful what I say, because there's cases coming to trial, but some really serious criminal offences that they're accused of. There are millions of pounds worth of damage on multiple occasions. There are assaults, there are weapons used.
'It is not about protest. This is about an organisation committing serious criminality and obviously the Home Secretary was persuaded by the papers on her desk to proscribe them, that law has come into force, and if people want to defy that law, then we have to enforce it.'
Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday which sought to stop the protest group being banned, less than two hours before the new legislation came into force at midnight.
The designation as a terror group means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
A group had earlier said it was set to gather in Parliament Square on Saturday holding signs supporting Palestine Action, according to campaign group Defend Our Juries.
In a letter to the Home Secretary, protesters said: 'We do not wish to go to prison or to be branded with a terrorism conviction, but we refuse to be cowed into silence by your order.'
The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7 million of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes was 'disgraceful' and that the group had a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage'.
MPs in the Commons voted 385 to 26, majority 359, in favour of proscribing the group on Wednesday, before the House of Lords backed the move without a vote on Thursday.
Four people – Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Jony Cink, 24, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 36, and Lewis Chiaramello, 22 – have all been charged in connection with the incident at RAF Brize Norton.
They appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday after being charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage, under the Criminal Law Act 1977.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
43 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
The Crisis of the Welfare State in Profile
The crisis of the welfare state—fiscally unaffordable but politically unreformable—afflicts nearly every 21st-century Western democracy. And the revolt last week against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's modest disability reforms shows how deeply the entitlement state mentality is entrenched. At issue were so-called personal independence payments for those who struggle with tasks like bathing, preparing food or managing finances owing to physical or mental infirmities. Sounds compassionate, but more Brits than ever are claiming anxiety and depression to qualify. As many as a thousand people each day are signing up for the allowance that can exceed $250 a week. Some 2.8 million jobless Brits are now classified as long-term ill, and the government says one in 10 working-age people now claim a sickness or disability benefit. Personal independence payment awards have more than doubled since the pandemic. British spending on working-age, health-related benefits has skyrocketed to £52 billion from £36 billion over the past five years, according to the London-based Institute for Fiscal Studies. Mr. Starmer sought to tighten eligibility requirements, but his own party revolted. More than 120 Labour MPs threatened to kill the reform bill outright. The government responded with concessions that shielded existing claimants from the changes, knocking billions off the total savings.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Apple Valley police ask for help after man found dying on a sidewalk
A man was found fighting for his life, moments before being declared dead in Apple Valley, Minnesota, according to police. Officials say officers were dispatched Sunday at around 3:12 a.m. to check the welfare of a person lying on the sidewalk at the intersection of Pennock Avenue and 138th Street. When they arrived, officers reported finding a man lying on the sidewalk covered in blood and with an injury to his chest. A police report says the officers performed lifesaving measures, but the man was ultimately declared dead at the scene. Authorities are asking anyone living near the incident with exterior cameras to review them for any activity between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Sunday. Those who find activity recorded, should contact the Apple Valley Police Department at 952-322-2323.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Woman Thinks Her Newly-Single Neighbor Is After Her Husband — But Her Hubby Says She's Being 'Silly'
A woman is convinced that her newly single neighbor is pursuing her husband She says the other woman has done everything from asking her husband to be her 'personal trainer' to greeting him in a bikini in the middle of the day The woman shared her story on a community forum, where the majority of commenters told her she has every right to feel suspiciousA woman is convinced her female neighbor may be crossing some lines with her husband — but he thinks she's being "silly." The woman detailed her story on the U.K.-based community site Mumsnet. In her post, titled, 'Suspicious of neighbor's behavior towards my husband,' the woman shared that her next-door neighbor recently broke up with her partner and now lives in her home alone. The original poster (OP) said that while the woman 'rarely spoke to' the OP and her husband before the split, she now seems especially interested in the OP's partner. '[She] is always chatting with my husband when she sees him. I can be [standing] next to him, and she doesn't look at me and aims any conversation towards him. She also refers to him by his name, but doesn't ever say mine,' she said. The woman went on to say that the neighbor has ratcheted up her behavior in the 'last couple weeks.' 'She saw [my husband] get back from the gym and asked him if he'd be her personal trainer,' the OP said, adding that the neighbor woman then said she hadn't 'had any workouts since becoming single and added 'If you know what I mean' with a laugh.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The OP also said that she was recently out all afternoon at a friend's baby shower, and so her car was not in the driveway — and the neighbor seemingly used the opportunity to make further contact with her husband. '[My husband] told me he was pottering in the garden when our neighbor called his name over the fence and asked if he could help her with moving something in her garden which was too heavy for her.' The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! The OP said that when her husband went over to the other woman's yard, she was 'wearing a bikini, and — in his words — had clearly not been gardening.' She said that when the neighbor learned that the OP would be gone all afternoon, she invited her husband to stay for a drink. 'My husband politely made [an] excuse and came home,' she said before adding, 'I trust [my husband] completely,' but 'I worry what her intentions are.' 'Do you see where I'm coming from?' the woman asked her fellow community members, revealing that her husband thinks she's being 'silly.' The vast majority of post commenters said they thought the OP had every right to feel uneasy about her neighbor's behavior. 'YANBU [you are not being unreasonable] at all,' one person said, before adding, 'You're not being silly. You're being perceptive. There's a clear pattern here: ignoring you, flirting with your husband, conveniently appearing in a bikini to move one pot. That's not gardening, it's a rom-com audition.' The same person said, 'You're right to trust your husband, but it's also fair to feel uncomfortable when someone is disrespecting your presence in your own space.' Another person suggested that the OP have a conversation with the neighbor and put everything out in the open. 'I think you're going to have to be blunt with her and make it clear you know what she's doing and to back off. She sounds shameless,' they said. Read the original article on People
