50 Welsh officers involved in policing pro-Palestine 'terror arrests' demo

Martin Shipton

Fifty police officers from Wales were involved in policing a pro-Palestine demonstration in London that resulted in more than 500 protesters being arrested under terrorism legislation at the weekend.

The arrests, which follow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s controversial decision to ban the Palestine Action group as a terrorist organisation, have entailed bundling pensioners and disabled people into police vans for disabling posters that read: “I oppose genocide; I support Palestine Action.”

Nation.Cymru asked the four Welsh police forces whether any of their officers were involved in the operation after we were sent photographs of police at the event wearing yellow jackets with ‘Heddlu’ - the Welsh word for police - on the back of their uniforms.

We asked the forces whether any of the officers policing the protest were theirs; if so, how many were involved; who bears the cost of their involvement and what impact their presence in London had on policing in Wales.

North Wales Police told us that none of their officers had participated, but the other three forces referred our questions to the Metropolitan Police.

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'Appreciated'

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “We were supported by officers from three Welsh forces as part of the policing operation on Saturday. Their assistance was greatly appreciated.

“17 officers from South Wales Police

“17 officers from Gwent

“16 officers from Dyfed-Powys

“The Met pays for the officers based on a national pricing structure.

“I don’t have any details of the exact costs as I understand these are still to be determined.

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'Madness'

Former Labour Secretary of State for Wales Peter Hain posted a comment to social media in which he described the mass arrests as “madness” and said Palestine Action was not “equivalent to real terrorist groups like Al Qaeda or Islamic State, which is why I voted against its ban.”

Former Conservative cabinet minister David Davis told The Independent the arrests were an “excessive use of counter terrorism law”, adding “they’ve gone over the top”.

He said: “We've not really been given any evidence for the reasoning behind proscribing Palestine Action. I mean, they broke in and painted an aircraft, they did not set bombs or anything. So that's the first question. What were the criteria? .... And then secondly, should you be arresting lots of people because they support a particular side and put up a banner?”

He added that: “The authorities should be more clear cut about why they have proscribed Palestine Action.”

'Foolish'

Meanwhile, veteran backbencher Diane Abbott said the government was in danger of making itself look “both draconian and foolish”.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk concluded last month that the use of counterterrorism law in this way “misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism”.

In a letter to the Times, retired RAF man Andrew Brookes writes that during his time as UK commander of Greenham Common base, “I had a £250,000 annual budget to repair damage done by peace protestors to the perimeter fence”. The military police presence ensured they kept their distance, and he adds: “[The protestors’] freedom of speech was always respected, and I never heard anyone in Whitehall or the Pentagon suggest that they should be classed as terrorists.’”

But Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones, the MP for Pontypridd, doubled down on the banning of Palestine Action, saying supporters of a “terrorist organisation will feel the full force of the law”,

She told BBC Breakfast: “I want to thank the police for their bravery and their courage in carrying out their diligent duties in the line of public protection, and I want to state that the right to peacefully protest in this country is a cornerstone of our democracy, and of course, we respect that.

“But with regards to Palestine Action, they are a proscribed terrorist organisation and their actions have not been peaceful.

“They have violently carried out criminal damage to RAF aircraft.

“We have credible reports of them targeting Jewish-owned businesses here in the United Kingdom, and there are other reasons which we can’t disclose because of national security.

“But they are a proscribed terrorist organisation and anyone showing support for that terrorist organisation will feel the full force of the law.”