In an internal professional misconduct investigation, led by the Assistant Chief Constable, Sussex Police have concluded that allegations against a local peace group contained in a letter from Chief Superintendent Kevin Moore published in The Argus last year were inaccurate but have controversially rejected the other complaints made against them.
The complaints, investigated internally by the police, were that 1) a letter published by the Argus on 26th August 2006 from Chief Superintendent Kevin Moore brought discredit upon the peace movement by branding them racist and anti-semitic and accused the march organisers of deliberately provoking and inciting the Jewish community in Brighton and 2) the same letter contained inaccurate information about the notice given for another earlier march and an alleged assault on a Jewish man during this march.
The investigation concluded that the letter did indeed contain inaccurate information concerning the notice given to the police by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) before the first march but unfortunately none of the other complaints were accepted.
Sussex Action for Peace firmly rejects the police's response to their complaints and furthermore it is very strongly felt that one of the main issues was not dealt with at all. This is that Chief Superintendent Moore's accusation that Palmeria Square, as the meeting point for both marches against Israel's invasion of Lebanon and Gaza last year, was chosen to incite the Jewish community. The police agreed on this location for the first march and Palmeria Square had been used as a starting point for previous marches and many demonstrators at both marches were themselves Jewish. Many are angry at the police's refusal to deal with these contradictions, which have brought local peace groups into disrepute and branded them racist. It is also felt that the police exaggerated an alleged racial assault on the first march to criminalise the second march.
Glenn Williams, organiser of the second march, said “I went to the police station twice to report as a witness to the alleged ‘serious assault’ I’d seen on the first march which was just a reaction to a silly passer-by who made an extremely insulting comment to a demonstrator. The police did not take a witness statement from me on either occasion and yet they have used the incident to bring the local peace movement into disrepute and offend people who are, by nature, anti-racist. The police have fallen for the same old false assertion that those who oppose the actions of the State of Israel are anti-semitic. They slurred local peace groups to control the march and then libelled them to justify their over-policing and we absolutely must appeal this whitewash and clear our name”
Linda Catt, a lawyer and a demonstrator on both marches said "It is abhorrent and grossly insulting that I could in any way be associated with anti-semitism given that my late mother and her family were persecuted by the Nazis for simply being Jewish. The police code of conduct demands that the police ‘avoid favouritism of an individual or group’ and that they act with ‘fairness and impartiality’. The outcome of this police investigation has demonstrably shown that they have not."
The issues of the police's response to the second march and the accusations of racism made by the police were covered extensively in the Argus in August and September 2006 and provoked fierce debate in the letters pages. Chief Superintendent Moore has since moved and is now Head of Sussex CID and has been replaced by Paul Pearce. Sussex Action for Peace is now considering whether to appeal to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
Please ring 07973 228335 or email
rollacoast@yahoo.co.uk for more information. Notes and Background
On July 30th 2006 Palestine Solidarity Campaign called a march to protest against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and Gaza. Around 600 people turned up to march from Palmeria Square in Hove to Brighton Pier. There were only a few police present and the march was peaceful although emotions running high since it was held the day after many women and children were slaughtered by the Israelis in Qana in Lebanon.
A short time later Sussex Action for Peace called another march since the British Government was still refusing to condemn the actions of the Israelis. No more than 200 people turned up for this march on August 19th 2006 but a massive police presence caused anger and distress amongst the protesters and the police were later strongly criticised for their actions by many individuals, Councillors and the local media. Many complaints were made concerning individual incidents of excessive and intrusive policing. These complaints are still being investigated by Sussex Police’s Professional Standards Department. The complaints concerning Kevin Moore’s letter were examined separately from these other complaints. The investigation was suspended for a few months while the police launched a criminal investigation into the organisation of the march but the Crown Prosecution Service did not have sufficient evidence to proceed with the case.
Sussex Action for Peace (SAfP) was formed in 2001 following the attack on Afghanistan and it continues to campaign against US and UK foreign Policy and calls for the immediate withdrawal of all US and UK troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Articles, letters, etc from Argus (in date order)
Argus report of the second march:
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2006/8/21/214151.html Argus Letter:
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2006/8/23/214377.html Argus Letter:
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2006/8/23/214371.html Report of over policing of second demonstration
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2006/8/24/214438.html The Kevin Moore Letter and another Argus article intimating that the 2nd march was racist both published on 26th August 2006 do not appear in the online archive.
Argus letter from a (then) Labour Councillor
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2006/9/1/214949.html Jean Calder Opinion
http://jeancalder.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/just-not-cricket-2/ Article:
http://archive.theargus.co.uk/2006/9/6/215271.html Analysis Argus piece by Adrian Kwinter was published 7.09.2006 but not in online archive.
Please ring 07973 228335 for more information.
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