Stephen's views on the protests at the G20 Summit in London

The right to protest is a fundamental Human Right and an important part of our democracy. Many of the rights and freedoms we enjoy today such as the right to vote have arisen from protests. It is of great worry that freedom to protest is being slowly eroded by the Labour Government and suppressed by such tactics as demonstrated in the G20 protests.

Peaceful versus lawful protest

One problem concerns the way the police define a 'legitimate' protest. It sometimes appears that the level of policing a protest is determined by a binary categorisation of protest as lawful or unlawful: "If it's lawful, we will facilitate it; if it's unlawful, we won't allow it", rather than a graduated approach where the level of force used is proportionate to the level of violence or of threat to public order. Given that the police seem to consider that any obstruction of the highway renders a protest unlawful (the stance taken in relation to the Climate Camp, which was violently dispersed), this can lead to the use of disproportionate force against peaceful protests. I believe there needs to be a proper discussion of what constitutes legitimate protest, which clearly and separately considers the appropriate application of the terms 'peaceful' and 'lawful'. This is crucial if we are to move to a more proportionate model of public order policing, whereby demonstrations are policed according to the threat they pose to public safety, with a presumption (as recommended by the Joint Committee on Human Rights in its recent report) in favour of the right to protest non-violently.

Kettling

I share your concerns about the controversial tactic of 'kettling' protests and I believe that 'kettling' is a tactic that should come under review. There are two separate tactics used in 'kettling', which are often conflated, but both are a cause for concern. The first practice is the 'corralling' of protests: enclosing protestors in a police cordon of riot shields and batons through which nobody is allowed to enter or leave. Protestors are deprived access to food, toilets and water. Although the police seem to believe that the courts ruled this tactic legal in the Oxford Circus case, in fact they ruled it acceptable only in very particular circumstances and the court's decision is still under review by the European Court of Human Rights. Few of these circumstances were present at the protests outside the Bank of England, and none whatsoever at the Climate Camp protests at Bishopsgate. Yet the police employed the tactic indiscriminately. The second tactic which has been subsumed in discussions of 'kettling' is perhaps even more worrying. This is the practice of highly aggressive advances in police lines against the demonstration, often by fully armed riot police or horses, which compresses the protest into a smaller space. It causes fear and tension and appears to have no justification from the point of view of preventing disorder. It is not surprising that being subjected to both these tactics can turn an otherwise overwhelmingly relaxed and peaceful crowd more violent, as people become agitated, frustrated then angry.

Freedom of Press

A wide variety of people were caught up during the 'kettling' process, protestors, non-protestors and journalists. In fact some journalists were obstructed from doing their work, when caught in the kettle at the Bank of England. The 'kettling' of journalists undermines freedom of the press. The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights wrote in a report: "Journalists have the right to carry out their lawful business and report the way in which demonstrations are handled by the police without state interference, unless such interference is necessary and proportionate." The public in turn have the right to impart and receive information: the media are the eyes and ears of the public; helping to ensure that the police are accountable to the people they serve. The police force need to ensure their officers follow the guidelines agreed by ACPO and the NUJ and action must be taken against officers who ignore this guidance.

Police Discipline

In addition to the 'kettling' tactics employed, I was dismayed by evidence that some officers obscured their identification numbers. Police disciplinary rules lay down that officers should always be identifiable and statements to this effect have been made openly by senior officers of the police authority. An IPCC report criticised the practice of obscuring identification numbers during the anti-hunting bill protests in 2004 and it is deeply disappointing that this problem has arisen again during recent protests, despite firm assurances that it would not. This is an unacceptable practice and has got to stop.

Independent Inquiry

Given all the recent issues that have arisen from the G20 protests my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I believe that the case for a full independent inquiry into the policing of the G20 protests is now compelling and the mass of footage that is emerging exposes serious questions that need to be asked about the overall policing of the G20 protests. A simple debate about policing tactics employed is not enough. There needs to be a full judicial inquiry examining the tactics, discipline, training and the ethos of units such as the Metropolitan Police's Territorial Support Group. The Independent Police Complaints Commission only has a remit to deal with individual complaints and the review by Denis O'Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, concentrates on police tactics. A wider examination of issues is needed, not least to give guidance to the police in future about the right to protest, and only a full independent inquiry can have the required scope and objectivity to get to the heart of these problems.

ACPO Guidance

Sir Ken Jones, the President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), has stated that a calm, honest and open debate into police tactics when dealing with mass demonstrations is required. I could not agree more. However, ACPO themselves do not publish all of their current guidance on these issues. Keeping any of this information secret only serves to further undermine public confidence in the police and the tactics they employ during these events. Without all of these documents in the public domain, no debate can be truly open or honest, and we will certainly continue to press ACPO to make public all relevant guidance manuals. My fellow Liberal Democrats and I strongly support every person's right to protest and object to needless interventions by the state which hinders this right. Protest and demonstration is a vital element of democracy. I have been on many protests myself, most recently on issues as diverse as a march to protect the Bristol-Bath Railway Path and another against Israeli action in Gaza. I was impressed by the recent round the clock demonstrations and occasional sit down protests by Tamils in Parliament Square.