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
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
CNN reporter detained during LA protests live on air
A CNN reporter was detained by police live on air while covering the protests in Los Angeles. Jason Carroll was led away by officers on Monday night with his hands held behind his back, despite identifying himself as a correspondent with the broadcaster. 'I'm being detained… I'm not being arrested, correct officers?' he could be heard saying, as he was taken outside a security perimeter. Mr Carroll, who appears to have been detained for under 30 seconds, said the incident was unusual because police normally 'realise that the press is there doing a job'. 'You take a lot of risks as press – this is low on that sort of scale of risks. But it is something that I wasn't expecting, simply because we've been out here all day,' he said. Carroll: I was walking over to the officer, tried to explain who I was, who I was with. He said, I'd like you to turn around. I turned around, I put my hands behind my back. They did not put me in zip ties, but they did grab both my hands as I was escorted over to the side, they… — Acyn (@Acyn) June 10, 2025 CNN said two of its security personnel were also briefly detained by the police before being released without charge. Several journalists were shot by officers using non-lethal rounds as they covered the protests over the weekend, including Nick Stern, a British photographer, The New York Post's Toby Canham, and Australian TV reporter Lauren Tomasi. Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, described Ms Tomasi's experience as 'horrific' and said he had raised the issue with the US government. Donald Trump deployed 2,000 members of the National Guard to Los Angeles over the weekend, prompting a power struggle with Gavin Newsom, the California governor, and a further 700 US marines were expected to arrive on Monday night. On Monday, Mr Newsom announced he would sue the Trump administration over the deployments, accusing the US president of seeking to inflame the demonstrations that erupted over immigration raids. 'It's a blatant abuse of power. We will sue to stop this,' he said on social media. 'The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling. This is a red line – and they're crossing it. Wake up!' However, John Fetterman, the Democrat senator for Pennsylvania, has criticised his party for failing to call out 'anarchy and true chaos', which have seen cars torches and shops looted. 'My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement,' he said. White House sources have said they view the riots as a political opportunity that would put the Democrats on the side of protesters and against the views of the majority of Americans. 'We couldn't script this any better... Democrats are again on the '20' side of an 80-20 issue,' a person close to the administration told Politico. 'We're happy to have this fight,' a White House official quoted by NBC News said. A Trump adviser said the government's response was 'what America voted for' in last year's election, adding: 'This is the America First focus that got the president elected and is driven by nothing else than what he promised American voters.' Tensions have flared elsewhere in the US, with protesters clashing with law enforcement and being arrested in Dallas and Austin at rallies against immigration and customs enforcement (ICE). Mr Trump is also using the opportunity to push his 'one big, beautiful' tax-and-spend bill through the Senate, Axios reported. Republican senators are apparently being told by the president they need to pass the legislation, which is facing an uncertain passage through Congress, to release federal funds for immigration enforcement. 'It's the best BBB [big beautiful bill] marketing ever. It has brought the critical nature of increased border funding and immigration enforcement to the fore,' said Andrew Kolvet, spokesman for conservative group Turning Point USA. He added: 'Everyone we're talking to in the Senate says this put it over the top.' Trump could invoke Insurrection Act Mr Trump labelled rioters 'insurrectionists', prompting speculation he could invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which would allow deployed troops to arrest protesters. Currently, their role is limited to supporting police rather than directly participating in law enforcement. When asked if he would invoke the Insurrection Act, Mr Trump said: 'If there's an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We'll see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible.' Stephen Miller, the deputy White House chief of staff and the architect of Mr Trump's immigration policy, reportedly greenlit the raids on workplaces which sparked the Los Angeles riots. According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr Miller instructed ICE officers to shift the focus from foreign criminals and 'go out there and arrest illegal aliens', to fulfil the president's campaign pledge for mass deportations. He reportedly directed agents to target Home Depot and 7-Eleven convenience stores, asking for a show of hands and asking: 'Who here thinks they can do it?' Officers subsequently raided a Home Depot on Friday in the Westlake neighbourhood of Los Angeles, helping set off days' worth of protests. 'Keeping President Trump's promise to deport illegal aliens is something the administration takes seriously,' said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman. 'We are committed to aggressively and efficiently removing illegal aliens from the United States, including illegal aliens who commit additional crimes once arriving illegally in the United States. 'President Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill' will ensure law enforcement officers have the resources necessary to keep the President's promise. The safety of the American people depends upon this.' On Tuesday, a Pentagon official told a congressional committee that the deployment of the National Guard and US marines to Los Angeles, which has been guaranteed for 60 days, was expected to cost $134 million. Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, special assistant to Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, said most of the funding would be taken up by housing, feeding and transporting troops.
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Scots more likely to be crime victims than the English
Scots are more likely to be crime victims than people in England and Wales, according to an official survey that found declining confidence in the police and the SNP's justice system. The SNP government's Scottish crime and justice survey said that that 19.9 per cent of adults were estimated to have experienced at least one crime in 2023-24. This compared with 16.1 per cent of people in England and Wales. The proportion of Scots who had experienced violent crime (2.9 per cent) was more than double the rate south of the border (1.4 per cent). The survey stated that, for the first time, Scotland's 'property and violent crime victimisation' rate (12.1 per cent) was higher than that in England and Wales (10.1 per cent). The proportion of violent crime offenders aged under 16 was 31 per cent, the highest level ever recorded and nearly quadruple the eight per cent figure in 2021-22. The survey also disclosed that only 36 per cent of Scots were confident that the sentences handed out to offenders fitted the crime, down five points compared to 2021-22. More than a third of adults (38 per cent) were not confident in the ability of the police to catch criminals, with a small decline in the number who said the opposite. 'Law-abiding Scots have lost trust' Angela Constance, the SNP's Justice Secretary, said that total violent and property crime levels had fallen by more than a third since 2008-09, the year after her party came to power. But Liam Kerr, the Scottish Tories' shadow justice secretary, said: 'This damning survey exposes how badly the SNP's soft-touch justice system is failing Scots. 'More people are victims of crime here than in England and Wales, while a growing majority feel that punishments don't fit the crime. 'It is little wonder that law-abiding Scots have lost trust in the system when the SNP continually panders to offenders and leaves victims as an afterthought.' Pauline McNeill, Scottish Labour's justice spokeswoman, said: 'Violent crime is on the rise and increasing levels of property crime leave far too many people feeling unsafe in their own homes. 'Our justice system is stretched to breaking point after years of SNP mismanagement and neglect so it is no surprise public trust is declining.' These findings were based on a survey of 4,973 people aged 16 or over living in private households in Scotland, with interviews conducted between July 2023 and April 2024. It estimated that nearly 1.2 million crimes were committed in Scotland in 2023-24, with fraud and computer misuse accounting for more than two-fifths (44 per cent). Almost half of this category (47 per cent) were bank and credit card fraud. The majority of violent incidents were minor assaults resulting in no or negligible injury (61 per cent), with a further 8 per cent being serious assaults and 5 per cent robberies. It emerged in March that Police Scotland have 'written off' investigating more than 12,000 crimes under a controversial new protocol to cut officer workloads. A pilot scheme was initially launched in the North East of Scotland, whereby some 'minor' crimes were not investigated if they were deemed to require excessive manpower. This protocol was rolled out across Scotland and a report disclosed that 12,017 crime reports had been 'directly filed', meaning they were not fully investigated. Ms Constance said: 'Crime continues to be down significantly over the long term, though the survey does highlight areas of concern and the need for continued action from governments and justice partners. 'While the levels of crime experienced remain similar to the pre-pandemic position in 2019-20, I am keen to understand what has contributed to the rises in crime identified since the 2021-22 survey.' Mark Sutherland, Assistant Chief Constable, said: 'Levels of crime are similar to the period before the pandemic, while estimates that around one in 10 adults experienced fraud and computer misuse underline that policing must continue to respond to changing demands. 'The Chief Constable has outlined a vision for policing of safer communities, less crime, and supported victims and we're delivering on those ambitions, including through a dedicated cyber and fraud unit and plans for a strengthened community policing model.'
BBC News
39 minutes ago
- BBC News
Mazin Kaladi death: Second man arrested in Burngreave murder investigation
A second man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 32-year-old man died after being attacked in Kaladi died on 1 June, three days after being found with life-threatening injuries on Grimesthorpe Road, Yorkshire Police said they arrested a 24-year-old man in the early hours of Tuesday. He has been released on bail. A 69-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder last week and has since been released on police bail. Police said detectives were working "at pace" to determine the circumstances which led to Mr Kaladi's death, and urged anyone with information to contact them. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
