More than 20 London police officers have reportedly stormed the Quakers’ Westminster Meeting House and arrested six young women from a group called Youth Demand who were attending a peaceful meeting focused on climate change and the Gaza conflict.
The officers were armed with tasers as they reportedly smashed the front door of the building without warning or even attempting to gain peaceful entry first by simply ringing the bell last Thursday evening.
They also seized laptops and phones and conducted a full search of the building where the group was using a rented room.
It’s unclear how many of those at the meeting were Quakers, if any. Youth Demand is not affiliated with the Quakers.
The group which has Christian roots has a long history of supporting protest movements and non-violence is one of their core beliefs.
POLICE EXPLAIN WHY THEY RAIDED THE MEETING
Youth Demand describes itself as “a youth-led non-violent civil resistance campaign demanding the UK stops arming Israel and cancels all new oil and gas granted since 2021”.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it had arrested six people at the meeting on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
It 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 ACCUSE POLICE OF VIOLATING HOUSE OF WORSHIP
The Quakers organisation strongly condemned the violation of their place of worship which they said is a direct result of stricter protest laws removing virtually all routes to challenge the status quo.
It claimed the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 have criminalised many forms of protest and allow police to halt actions deemed too disruptive.
Meanwhile, changes in judicial procedures limit protesters’ ability to defend their actions in court.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, noted that until last week: “No-one has been arrested in a Quaker meeting house in living memory.”
“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,” he asserted.
“Freedom of speech, assembly, and fair trials are an essential part of free public debate which underpins democracy.”
WHO ARE THE QUAKERS?
Quakers support the right to non-violent public protest and act from a deep moral imperative to stand up against injustice and for the planet.
Many have taken non-violent direct action over the centuries from the abolition of slavery to women’s suffrage and prison reform.
The Quakers’ Protestant Christian roots date back to England in the 1650s.
The formal title of the movement is the Society of Friends or the Religious Society of Friends.
The BBC reports there are about 210,000 Quakers across the world.
In Britain there are 17,000 Quakers, and 400 Quaker meetings for worship each week.
More than 9,000 people in Britain regularly take part in Quaker worship without being members of the Religious Society of Friends.
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