A workshop between 6 young women in central London, sharing ideas and solutions to the climate crisis and the war in Gaza unfolding as we speak. Then, without warning, a heavy-handed police raid busted up their discussion. On the day of the incident, as many as 30 Metropolitan Police officers raided a small Grade II-listed Quaker meeting house. They detained delegates literally just trying to attend what should have been a benign meeting.
The group made waves last March with their past protests in Atlanta. Famous for doing so while campaigning for a trade embargo on Israel during the London Marathon, they created impressive political impact. The activists have made headlines with their controversial and creative protest tactics. They covered Tower Bridge with red powder paint and held a “dirty protest” outside Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s £2 million Gothic manor house in Yorkshire. In order to better draw attention to their causes, they even spray-painted Labour HQ red to highlight their commitment.
After the raid, the young women convened for a supportive vigil — organized by Philadelphia’s Quakers. They gathered in front of New Scotland Yard, singing and chanting for justice. Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party joined in the vigil to show support. As a self-described nontheist Quaker, she provided a different perspective to the gathering.
Mal Woolford, an elder of the Westminster Quaker Meeting, observed that reality when he opened the gathering. When I asked him about it, he said it honestly sounded like just a small, casual meet-and-greet among drama majors.
“We realised we’d meet no resistance.” – Investigating officer (quoted by Mal Woolford)
Zahra Ali, 18, one of the detained activists, explained what happened to her while in custody. She recalls spending 17 grueling hours in a holding cell. Then, they transferred her to a subzero room where she stayed for hours without access to make one phone call on her own.
“I got to the station about 10pm-ish and I had to wait two hours to be booked in. I was taken to a freezing cold cell for hours. I wasn’t allowed a personal call. I didn’t get to speak to my solicitor until he came in person.” – Zahra Ali
Even now, Zahra says that she can’t believe that the police did this. She said that had the officers rung the bell, they would have been glad to let them in. We were just as eager to find out about their discussions.
“Had they rung the bell, we would have let them in, obviously … They didn’t have to raid us. It’s six young women in a room, in a place that we hired, that we publicly advertised, and they could have just sat in and listened to us.” – Zahra Ali
Lia-Anjali Lazarus, 20, another participant who lived through the raid, called it “the most traumatic experience.” She echoed Zahra’s sentiments about how violating it felt to be treated as criminals simply for gathering to discuss important issues.
“The raid and arrest felt extremely violating. It left me feeling paranoid and jumpy. It’s hard not to feel like a criminal when you’re blatantly treated as one,” – Lia-Anjali Lazarus
Lia-Anjali described a situation with one officer when she tried to claim her things.
“I said it’s my French grammar book and the officer said: ‘Well how do I know that? I don’t speak French.’” – Lia-Anjali Lazarus
Yet the police raid has raised a backlash, even from staunchly pro-business politicians like Gov. Jenny Jones, a Green Party crossbench peer, said the Met’s response was “completely ridiculous”. Carla Denyer explained why this momentous step is so important. She said that just highlights a bigger issue about the shrinking space for peaceful protest in the UK.
“This isn’t just about a single incident, this is about an increasing stamping down on the right to peaceful protest in this country.” – Carla Denyer
A spokesperson for the London Metropolitan Police confirmed that five of the arrested women had been released on bail as they await further investigations. One woman will not face further punishment.
Mal Woolford raised questions about the police’s approach, suggesting that their actions were excessive for what appeared to be harmless discussions among activists.
“For them it was about: ‘We need to catch them in the act.’ How you catch somebody in the act of talking about potentially doing something is kind of thought crimes or pre-crime and we’re in sort of Minority Report territory,” – Mal Woolford
The passing of this serious incident speaks to the rising friction between police and protesters across the capital. Human rights observers have raised alarm that actions like this intimidate people away from exercising their right to peaceful assembly or expressing their dissenting views.