Extremist’ policing of Leicester EDL demo

FITWatch | 08.02.2012 09:46 | Anti-racism | Policing

The remarkable ambivalence with which the police treat right wing groups was clearly evident in the policing of the EDL demonstration this week in Leicester. Leicestershire constabulary were clearly happy with facilitating the EDL demonstration, while being equally clearly committed to clamping down heavily on any show of community based opposition, particularly when that opposition came from local Asian youths. One group, which had gathered in a nearby park, were attacked by police dogs, leaving a man in hospital. Others faced 'robust' policing from batons and horses.

Despite their assertions that the EDL are not ‘extremists’, the Domestic Extremism Unit did send along their public order intelligence officers Ian Skivens and Mark Sully, accompanied by football intelligence officers from Nottingham and Leicester – these are the FIT cops shown below. Their intelligence gathering was not, however, limited to the EDL, and the FIT cops below appeared to spend more time filming the anti-fascist response than the EDL. Added to that, there were a good number of local intelligence and PREVENT funded cops out keeping an eye on the local youth.

536 Jonathan Greenland – Leicestershire

1053 Philip Lowe Leicestershire

1517 P Reid Nottinghamshire

CO 5494 Skivens

2691

plain clothes police

plain clothes become ‘police liaison

In contrast to environmental and anti-arms trade campaigners, the Domestic Extremism Unit apparently does not consider the EDL an ‘extremist’ group. In April 2011, the National Co-ordinator for Domestic Extremism Adrian Tudway, emailed a Muslim organisation telling them that the EDL are "not extreme right wing". He added: "I really think you need to open a direct line of dialogue with them, that might be the best way to engage them and re-direct their activity."

This was a bit much even for some of the police force. Zaheer Ahmad, president of the National Association of Muslim Police, responded: "There is a strong perception in the Muslim communities that the police service does not take the threat of right wing extremism seriously.... The community perception is reinforced by the position of the National Domestic Extremism Unit which does not view EDL as right wing extremists.”

Plain clothes coppers also hung about on the fringes of the EDL demonstration. Those operating within the EDL demo – such as the two shown below – had a very different role to plain clothes cops seen on other demonstrations. No plain clothes snatch squads here. When the EDL kicked off they merely pulled hi-vis vests from their pocket labelled ‘police liaison officer’ and hurried off to ‘liaise’.

FITWatch
Homepage: http://www.fitwatch.org.uk/2012/02/08/extremist-policing-of-leicester-edl-demo/

Additions

Two tier policing

09.02.2012 08:45

For another example of discriminatory policing see the East Mids Anti-fascists blog:

http://emaf.noblogs.org/2012/02/06/two-tier-justice/

East Mids Anti-fascist

Comments

Hide the following 14 comments

the police also used aggressive tactics on edl

08.02.2012 10:42

the police also used aggressive tactics on the EDL, a small group of EDL were hit with batons for nothing, a small group of edl were also attacked by their minibuses by the police for next to nothing, some edl were hit over the heads over the had with batons from behind, the police attacked the minibus smashing one of the windows this was done away from the national press.

anon

skivens

08.02.2012 10:43

skivens is an absolute horrible piece of shit

steve

skivens

08.02.2012 10:49

skivens is an horrible piece of shit

dave

if

08.02.2012 14:20

nice people get hit by police, including women and children, do you really think fascist nazi supporting idiots are going to be any exception?

police violence against edl

08.02.2012 14:54

There is a strong perception that the police went easy on the edl whilst wading into anyone who was young and Asian. Personally, would be genuinely interested in any accounts of use of force by police on the day.

fighting fit

if you muppet

08.02.2012 14:55

so you complain when police violence is used on uaf, occupy etc, but it`s ok to use people who you perceive as fascists?

not

fighting fit

08.02.2012 15:46

ok, on the actual day the police kept the EDL waiting a long time before the march on the road with no toilet access, they then marched them for a while before pausing again, this continued for a long time, after an hour a couple of lads needed the toilet so they went into a small passageway along the route, the police then started hitting and kicking the lads with batons and police boots, the main EDL rally became angry, but the stewards managed to calm the situation down, on several occassions the police allowed groups of locals very near to the EDL march, but again the EDL stewards managed to calm it down, the worst incident was five minutes before the main rally ended, a small group of edl had gone back to their two minibuses, when a mob of locals went to confront them, the police must have allowed the locals near the minibuses for a reason, about twelve edl got out of their minibuses, the police immediately attacked the EDL with batons, the edl were ordered back, which they complied with, and further violent attacks were carried out, one of their cameramen was attacked when he was filming. one edl lad was hit over the head with a baton, the police then attacked the minibus and smashed the window of the minibus, it was filmed and is on youtube somewhere, leicester edl 2012 i think it`s called

anon

The left are apologists for Islamic extremism and Islamic terrorism

08.02.2012 16:20

The left act as apologists for Islamic extremism and Islamic terrorism while attacking anyone who speaks out against it. Smearing them with the racist/fascist/nazi label.

http://www.protestwarrior.com/

Protest Warrior

http://www.protestwarrior.com/ What a load of worthless bollocks!

08.02.2012 16:55

You may get some white trailer park trash to follow your ridiculously childish site and forum but you are posting on the wrong site here. Granted there are lots of anti semitic rants and postings and some AR loons are embedded on Indymedia but even compared to them you are a fucking joke!

No Gods, No Masters.

Great report

08.02.2012 19:52

Great report, Adrian Tudway's seen all the photos and You Tube clips of EDL activists making Nazi salutes, posing with guns and knives, standing next to Swastika flags and even showing-off Nazi tattoos etc (so much for it being the left that smeared the EDL) - Adrian Tudway's so delusional the only conclusion I can come to is that he must be an EDL sympathiser.... either way the man's fucking idiot and it'll be Tudway's failure when one of these psychopaths finally does a Breivik and slaughters dozens of innocent people

As for the "left act as apologists for Islamic extremism" mantra - this might be the case with the SWP, but Jeff Marsh really oughta get a life and stop trolling these stupid comments on Indymedia because left-wing groups like Women Against Fundamentalism were campaigning against extremist Islam, and (whatever you think of them) members of George Galloway's Respect party were having running battles with Hizb-ut Tahrir activists in the East End before the EDL was even founded, Mariam Namaze of the One Law anti-sharia campaign is an Iranian Communist FFS

Steel Cap

Protest Warrior

08.02.2012 19:57

We should thank the idiot for the link to the Protest Warrior website, first that site is proof left-wing arguments are really biting, second left-wingers need to know what techniques are being used against them so they can act accordingly

Kez

EDL = One Trick Pony!

09.02.2012 12:14

The EDL, like many far right groups before it, has become focused on one racial and religious enemy without campaigning against the loss of jobs, bankers bonuses etc., which ensures it only ever warbles on about Islamic extremists. No other issues does it ever speak out about such as the banks, not even other topics which people like Oswald Mosley took up, or even Nick Griffin spoke about.

Griffin hijacked the British Jobs mantra used by the Labour Party and turned it into a racist paraphet, and even the Infidels talk about many different people they hate, but the EDL are thankfully a one-trick pony excuse for a fully-sounded nationalist organisation, lol fuckin' lol.

A great lot of help they will be to the British Failure Party EDLers will be, if all they go on about are Muslims, lol!

There's far more to life than Muslims but they don't really realise that, lol!

Gee Up Neddy!

no.

09.02.2012 12:20

I meant the fact that if we've seen countless assualts, even deaths of people who the bulk of society deem acceptable, are we really surprised when generally hostile, disgusting, filthy, racists get it? has one of the maggots been killed by the police yet?

Perhaps they have, i haven't done adequate research, but all i ever seem to hear is of the general public getting murdered.

Indeed!

09.02.2012 12:23

People are losing their fucking jobs and they cannot blame this on Muslims.

This is all that matters to families who cannot afford to put food on their tables.

The EDL have absolutely no answer to this!

WHICH IS WHY THEY WILL FUCKING FAIL!

EDL Arseholes