New data supplied by the Mayor following questioning from Sian Berry AM, shows that the Metropolitan Police Service appears to have made disproportionate arrests at different events under the coronavirus legislation.
The data has arrived on the last day of the Assembly term, months after Sian submitted a written question to the Mayor in December 2020 asking for the number of arrests made in central London at protests held in support of Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion, and groups opposing coronavirus measures. [1]
The lack of transparency on this arrest data from the police in London is particularly worrying with the Government's recent attempts to rush through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The Bill aims to restrict the freedom to protest and extend new powers of discretion to the police, so the way different kinds of protest are treated is highly relevant to MPs considering the new legislation.
Sian Berry says:
The last few weeks have shown that the police in London have to do a lot of work to earn back the trust of Londoners. One crucial way of doing that is by being transparent about their conduct.
“The Met failed for several months to supply data on arrests at protest events for this answer to my question to the Mayor, and this can only add to the crisis of accountability and transparency facing policing in the capital.
“The final data is concerning. It shows a seemingly disproportionate use of strong-arm tactics like arrests at different events, with seemingly a higher proportion of arrests made of climate and anti-racism protestors than those protesting about lockdown, while lockdown protestors saw more lower level action under coronavirus laws.[2]
“The police cannot have one standard for Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion and another for anti-lockdown protestors.
“Protest policing does need reform but not to allow more discretion for a police service that does not treat all dissent equally. Alongside thousands of other citizens, I will continue to lobby MPs to abandon the anti-democratic Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
Notes to editors
Sian is available for interview.
References
[1] Sian’s Question to the Mayor, December 2020
https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2020/4319
Answered By:
The Mayor
Date:
Thursday, 18th March 2021
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) does not record the number of attendees for protests. The number of arrests under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations 2020 breaches during each of the main protests in 2020 as follows:
Please note no protest is the same and the conditions imposed for each protest may vary in accordance with the government guidance at the time.
Further, if people were arrested for multiple offences, including Coronavirus breaches, the arrests would be recorded under the more substantive offence. For example, if an individual was arrested for Public Order related offences and Coronavirus related offences, the MPS would record the incident as public order and not as a Coronavirus breach.
[2] Estimates of protest attendees reported by the press:
Extinction Rebellion (September) – thousands -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-53987662
Black Lives Matter (June) – thousands
Anti-lockdown (August) – tens of thousands
https://metro.co.uk/2020/08/29/anti-lockdown-protesters-calling-coronavirus-hoax-gather-london-13195529