Tony Benn to defy ban and head 8th October Troops Out march
redletter | 04.10.2007 10:49 | Anti-militarism
Tony Benn to defy ban and head 8th October Troops Out march
01/10/2007
In response to the attempt to ban the Troops Out march on Monday, 8th October Tony Benn has today delivered a letter to the Home Secretary confirming that he will be marching on 8th October despite the attempt to use the arcane 1839 Sessional legislation to prohibit this march. The letter appears below. Tony will be joined at the front of the march by Walter Wolfgang, Brian Eno, Mark Thomas and many more people calling for the withdrawal of British troops and in defence of civil liberties.
TO:
The Right Hon Jacqui Smith MP
Home Secretary
House of Commons
London
SW1A OAA
Monday, 1st October 2007
Dear Home Secretary,
LOBBY OF PARLIAMENT ON OCTOBER 8th
I am writing to you as President of the STOP THE WAR COALITION, to give you advance notice that there will be a demonstration in Trafalgar Square the day Parliament meets calling for the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan at which I shall be speaking along with others.
Afterwards many of those present - including myself - will be marching along Whitehall to the House of Commons to meet MPs and urge them to support this call for a withdrawal, as I shall be doing in approaching Malcolm Rifkind my own local MP.
We shall be doing this in an orderly manner and I am making available to those who wish to have one, a postcard over my printed signature as a Privy Councillor, asking the police, and others to assist them.
I enclose a copy of this postcard.
The authority for this march derives from our ancient right to free speech and assembly enshrined in our history, of which we often boast and which we vigorously defended in two world wars.
I am copying this letter, and its enclosure, to Jack Straw, the Commissioner of the Metropolis, and as a courtesy, to the Prime Minister's office.
I hope that you will be able to re-assure me that those who demonstrate and march down Whitehall will enjoy your full support and the support of the police.
But it is only fair to tell you that the march will go ahead, in any case, and I will be among those marching.
Yours in peace
TONY BENN
If they are planning an Iranian attack they will have a public even more upset and disgruntled than before. This is what this tightening up is about. Civil liberties never seem very important until you need them. At times like this we need to be re-enforcing them -- Brian Eno
This is rather a ham-fisted attempt to prevent us from demonstrating. What they (the government and police) do is up to them. We will just ignore them and we have the moral and logical high-ground. I will be marching on Monday, 8th October -- Mark Thomas
01/10/2007
In response to the attempt to ban the Troops Out march on Monday, 8th October Tony Benn has today delivered a letter to the Home Secretary confirming that he will be marching on 8th October despite the attempt to use the arcane 1839 Sessional legislation to prohibit this march. The letter appears below. Tony will be joined at the front of the march by Walter Wolfgang, Brian Eno, Mark Thomas and many more people calling for the withdrawal of British troops and in defence of civil liberties.
TO:
The Right Hon Jacqui Smith MP
Home Secretary
House of Commons
London
SW1A OAA
Monday, 1st October 2007
Dear Home Secretary,
LOBBY OF PARLIAMENT ON OCTOBER 8th
I am writing to you as President of the STOP THE WAR COALITION, to give you advance notice that there will be a demonstration in Trafalgar Square the day Parliament meets calling for the immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Iraq and Afghanistan at which I shall be speaking along with others.
Afterwards many of those present - including myself - will be marching along Whitehall to the House of Commons to meet MPs and urge them to support this call for a withdrawal, as I shall be doing in approaching Malcolm Rifkind my own local MP.
We shall be doing this in an orderly manner and I am making available to those who wish to have one, a postcard over my printed signature as a Privy Councillor, asking the police, and others to assist them.
I enclose a copy of this postcard.
The authority for this march derives from our ancient right to free speech and assembly enshrined in our history, of which we often boast and which we vigorously defended in two world wars.
I am copying this letter, and its enclosure, to Jack Straw, the Commissioner of the Metropolis, and as a courtesy, to the Prime Minister's office.
I hope that you will be able to re-assure me that those who demonstrate and march down Whitehall will enjoy your full support and the support of the police.
But it is only fair to tell you that the march will go ahead, in any case, and I will be among those marching.
Yours in peace
TONY BENN
If they are planning an Iranian attack they will have a public even more upset and disgruntled than before. This is what this tightening up is about. Civil liberties never seem very important until you need them. At times like this we need to be re-enforcing them -- Brian Eno
This is rather a ham-fisted attempt to prevent us from demonstrating. What they (the government and police) do is up to them. We will just ignore them and we have the moral and logical high-ground. I will be marching on Monday, 8th October -- Mark Thomas
redletter
Homepage:
http://www.stopwar.org.uk
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
freedom of assembly and expression
04.10.2007 11:59
Fairford ruling:
Burma + UK = 2 police states
Sessional Orders from 1839
04.10.2007 14:35
Sessional Orders are passed at the beginning of every Parliamentary session under an 1839 law to ensure free passage for MP’s to arrive and depart from Parliament. Similar Orders apply to the House of Lords.
Under the 2005 SOCPA legislation any march / demonstration in the vicinity of Parliament must be allowed to take place so long as a minimum of 6 days notice is given to the police.
Something more restrictive was needed so the 1839 legislation passed many years before this country had universal suffrage is now being used to attempt to ban the 8 October Troops Out march.
Since the march to Parliament is intended to be a peaceful attempt to alert Parliament to the feeling of the majority of the British public about the wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan and MP’s themselves will be on the march this cannot be interpreted as obstructing the passage of members of Parliament.
To do so is an affront to the democratic rights of the people of this country and this is made clear in Tony Benn’s letter to the Home Secretary which he delivered on Monday 1 October.
Sessional Orders from 1839
“ORDERED, That the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis do take care that the passages through the streets leading to this House be kept free and open and that no obstruction be permitted to hinder the passage of Members to and from this House during the sitting of Parliament, or to hinder Members by any means in pursuit of their Parliamentary Estate; and that the Sergeant at Arms attending this House do communicate this Order to the Commissioner.”
Stop War
What Ban!!!!!!
05.10.2007 20:57
...sure, our so-called representatives (the deceivers) would like to have it that way, but it isn't. You can demonstrate, protest .... etc. all you want.
SteveJ
SteveJ