Met raids Quaker meeting house and arrests six women at Youth Demand talk
Police have raided a Quaker meeting house and arrested six women attending a gathering of the protest group Youth Demand.
More than 20 uniformed police, some equipped with Tasers, forced their way into the Westminster meeting house at 7.15pm, according to a statement by the Quakers.
'No one has been arrested in a Quaker meeting house in living memory,' said Paul Parker, the recording clerk for Quakers in Britain.
'This aggressive violation of our place of worship and the forceful removal of young people holding a protest group meeting clearly shows what happens when a society criminalises protest.
'Freedom of speech, assembly, and fair trials are an essential part of free public debate which underpins democracy.'
In a video posted on Youth Demand's Facebook page, a woman who claimed to have attended the meeting described it as a 'publicly advertised welcome talk' about the group. She said police seized attenders' phones and laptops.
Youth Demand describes itself as 'a youth-led nonviolent civil resistance campaign demanding the UK stops arming Israel and cancels all new oil and gas granted since 2021'.
The Quakers' statement said they 'strongly condemned the violation of their place of worship' and pointed to the stricter protesting laws brought in by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023, which they claimed were directly responsible for the raid.
The Met police said it had arrested six people at the meeting on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. It said it arrested five other people for the same offence on Friday – four in London and one in Exeter.
The police said those arrested were part of Youth Demand and claimed those attending the meeting were planning direct action in the capital next month.
'Youth Demand have stated an intention to 'shut down' London over the month of April using tactics including 'swarming' and road blocks,' police said.
'While we absolutely recognise the importance of the right to protest, we have a responsibility to intervene to prevent activity that crosses the line from protest into serious disruption and other criminality.'
Police said all those arrested had been released on bail, except for one who was released and will face no further action.
Quakers, a nickname for members of the Religious Society of Friends, follow a religious tradition that grew from Protestant Christianity in the 17th century.
Quakers have a long history of supporting protest movements and nonviolence is one of their core beliefs.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Couple turn detective and steal back their own Jaguar after 'police fail to act'
The pair had fitted their Jaguar E-Pace, worth around £46,000, with an Apple AirTag, allowing them to trace it to a street in London - but after calling 999, they were told police couldn't immediately help A couple were forced to steal back their own Jaguar after police told them they couldn't offer immediate help. Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson discovered their car missing from outside their Brook Green home in West London on Wednesday morning. The pair had fitted the Jaguar E-Pace, worth around £46,000, with an Apple AirTag, allowing them to trace it to a street in Chiswick by 10.30am. But after calling 999, they were told police could not say when they might be able to investigate. With no help on the way, the couple took matters into their own hands. Simpson said he was "nervous" as he and Ms Forbes Pirie made the four-mile journey to the car 's new location. They found the vehicle abandoned on a quiet back street, with the carpets and interior stripped by thieves who had attempted to access its wiring. The car had also been fitted with a 'ghost immobiliser' - a security device that prevents the car from starting unless a specific sequence of buttons is pressed on the dashboard. Ms Forbes Pirie, 48, and Simpson, 62, both legal professionals, had installed multiple layers of security after a previous car theft. The last AirTag signal had pinged outside their home at around 3.20am, suggesting the car was likely taken overnight. Neighbours later reported hearing unusual noises during the night. The couple believe the theft was "reasonably sophisticated" and likely involved a tow or flatbed truck. Posting to LinkedIn, Ms Forbes Pirie said it was "kind of fun" stealing back the car but questioned "why we should have had to do that". She added: "[Is] it right that the police seem to have no interest in investigating what is likely to have been a reasonably sophisticated operation involving a flat bed truck… if there are no consequences, what is the incentive for people not to do more of this?" Speaking to the Times, Ms Forbes Pirie said she thought the Met's inability to respond was down to a lack of resourcing. She said: "The police are under-resourced and it's a shame. "But if there aren't any consequences to people stealing cars or a lot of the other crimes where there aren't any consequences, then I don't really see what the deterrent is to stop people from doing it more." Official Met Police figures show there were 33,530 motor vehicle thefts in London in 2024 - a 1.6% rise on the previous year. Only 326 resulted in a 'positive outcome' such as a charge or caution, a rate of less than 1%. Last May, George Nicolas had his £93,000 Maserati Levante stolen. Despite tracking its location, he said police told him to recover it himself due to lack of manpower. And in April this year, Ewan Valentine, 36, unknowingly spent over £20,000 buying back his own stolen Honda Civic Type R on an online listing, weeks after it was taken from his driveway.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Man seriously injured in assault outside Huthwaite pub
Police are appealing for information after a man was seriously injured in an assault outside a pub in services were called to Main Street, Huthwaite, near the Market Inn, at about 21:20 BST on Police said a 31-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of affray and remained in victim, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital with "serious injuries" after what was believed to be an "isolated incident". Det Insp Matt Scott said: "Officers are following a number of lines of inquiry and residents can expect to see a police presence in the area during the rest of the day."We believe this was an isolated incident, but understand people in the village may be concerned. I'd urge them to speak to an officer."Detectives said they were analysing CCTV in the area and called for witnesses to come Market Inn said it was closed on Monday "out of respect due to what's happened".
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Thumbprint snared Rotherham robber four years after raid
A robber who fled the country after holding up a store at knifepoint has been jailed for the crime more than four years Lukac, 25, was stopped and questioned at Meadowhall, near Sheffield, in October 2024 about an alleged shoplifting offence before being linked to the December 2020 raid, where he left a thumbprint on the that offence, knife-wielding Lukac threatened then assaulted a shop worker in Rotherham before making off with £140 and subsequently leaving the admitted a charge of robbery at Sheffield Crown Court and was jailed for four years and four months. South Yorkshire Police's Det Con Georgia Evers said the "callous actions" of Lukac, of Grosvenor Road, Rotherham, had left a lasting impact on the shop worker he assaulted."Lukac brazenly returned to the UK likely not expecting to be held accountable for his offending," she said following his sentencing on 30 May."However this was not the case and Lukac will now spend a considerable time behind bars." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
