Security Risk? Critical Mass visits Brian Haw

Critical Mass cyclists in London visited Brian Haw in Parliament Square on Friday 26 May, 2006, following the trashing of his display and severe restrictions placed on his protest by police earlier in the week.

Critical Mass Assembles

A well-equipped bike

On the Road

Whitehall, approaching Downing St

Brian Haw watches the Mass arrive

Brian Haw lectures the Mass

I'm expecting a knock on my door at 3am any day now, because some of the pictures on my web site are apparently a grave risk to national security. Yes, it's Brian Haw's bears, part of the material that was removed on security grounds from Parliament Square by around 50 police officers in their raid early on Tuesday morning.

You can see more of them starting at My London Diary

http://mylondondiary.co.uk/2006/06/may.htm (scroll well down the page). Also gone are some of the pictures of the children, demonstrating the literally monstrous effects of the use of depleted uranium weaponry, and much more of the posters and signs shown here and from other occasions.

I'm actually very concerned about out national security and its failures. Our security services completely failed to spot the July 7 threat. Why? Largely because they had their eyes on the wrong balls, for example giving serious credence to false information extracted from suspects undergoing torture in Libya and elsewhere, rather than actually finding out what was really happening in the UK.

I'm worried now, that they think that Brian Haw's material on display was a secuity threat. Of course it wasn't, and everyone knows it wasn't. It was removed because it was an embarrasment to our government and our prime minister in particular. By concentrating their attention on such embarrasments - rather than putting their resources into the real threats, it is our security services that are putting national security at risk. Again they have their eyes on the wrong balls. Lying with Blair doesn't make anyone safer.

Perhaps travelling by tube isn't such a good idea any more. Critical Mass do it on bikes, and it was heartening to see a good turnout at the end of May. The Mass rode down to Parliament Square to give its (belated) support to Brian, who wasn't too amused. "Where were you", he asked, "when I needed you?"

It was perhaps a little unfair, because some of us at least had been there, if not when we were actually needed, at least at times when we might have been needed. And when the day came, by the time most of us heard the news it was too late to get on our bikes.

At least Brian is still there for the moment and his protest continues. I hope it will continue to get our support, and Critical Mass was there today to support him. It will help if more people go and visit whenever they can - perhaps on their way to or from work, or on Sundays at noon.

Peter Marshall
e-mail: petermarshall@cix.co.uk
Homepage: http://mylondondiary.co.uk