Quakers say London police arrested six people at meeting on climate change, Gaza

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. "suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance" - which is a bullshit move

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.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/29/met-raids-quaker-meeting-house-and-arrests-six-women-at-youth-demand-talk

That last paragraph is, of course, a lie - the police do not "absolutely recognise the importance of the right to protest" - they do all kinds of shit to stop protests (eg going undercover and starting sexual relationships with peaceful protesters). This is pretty much at the level of thoughtcrime.