Police 'too focused on kettling'

2011-04-18 01:30:52

18 April 2011 Last updated at 11:25 Share this page Delicious Digg Facebook reddit StumbleUpon Twitter Email Print 'Cuts march police too focused on kettling' - Liberty   Police were praised for their "proportionate" response to the march Continue reading the main story Related Stories Thousands stage anti-cuts protest G20 demo 'kettling' not justified Police 'kettle' tactic feels the heat

Senior police officers focused too much on "kettling" during the march against government spending cuts last month, human rights campaigners have said.

A review by 120 legal observers from Liberty said the containment tactic was "under near constant consideration" when potential trouble spots emerged.

It said the tactic undermined trust between peaceful protesters and police.

But it also said the police response to the TUC march in London was "in general proportionate".

Liberty was invited to observe the march by the TUC and Scotland Yard.

Kettling is a police tactic in which protesters are contained in one area by a cordon of officers.

Liberty's report and the observers' role was restricted to the policing of the official TUC "March for the Alternative" event, on 26 March.

"It was not within our remit to observe the policing of events after the TUC march, or completely extraneous to it," the observers say.

A total of 201 arrests were made on the day but these were at protests separate from the official anti-government cuts rally. In Piccadilly, shops and banks were attacked, and damage was caused to the Ritz hotel.

Most of the arrests - 145 - were made after campaign group UK Uncut staged a sit-in at a luxury store Fortnum & Mason in protest over alleged tax avoidance by part-owners of the business.

Trouble also flared in central London in Oxford Street and Trafalgar Square.

'Restrained and proportionate' Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

The question seemed to be more 'when' than 'if'”

End Quote Liberty report

The legal observers were posted along the march, which was the biggest trade union event for 20 years, and the biggest protest in London since the 2003 anti-war march.

The TUC estimated that the five-hour march attracted between 250,000 and 500,000 people, with 4,500 police officers involved in the whole operation.

The report said there was "no doubt that the official trade union-led demonstration was overwhelmingly civil, peaceful and good-natured and that the police response was in general proportionate".

At some points, observers praised the police's restraint when faced with "some provocation".

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