Netpol

Suffragettes stage "Defend the Right Protest" rally, Trafalgar Square, London, 6/3/26 Ahead of International Women's Day activists dressed as suffragettes - the early 20th century direct action group who helped gain women the vote - protest in Trafalgar Square in pouring rain, calling for repeal of the Public Order Act 2023 which gave police and courts yet more powers to restrict and criminalise peaceful protest activity. The women, supporters of Fossil Free London, aim to highlight the unprecedented punishments given to climate campaigns for peaceful protest. By coincidence, the event took place the same day police raided the homes of "Take Back Power" activists, many of whom were arrested last night at Westminster Quaker Meeting House. Image © Ron Fassbender

Suffragettes stage "Defend the Right Protest" rally, Trafalgar Square, London, 6/3/26 Ahead of International Women's Day activists dressed as suffragettes - the early 20th century direct action group who helped gain women the vote - protest in Trafalgar Square in pouring rain, calling for repeal of the Public Order Act 2023 which gave police and courts yet more powers to restrict and criminalise peaceful protest activity. The women, supporters of Fossil Free London, aim to highlight the unprecedented punishments given to climate campaigns for peaceful protest. By coincidence, the event took place the same day police raided the homes of "Take Back Power" activists, many of whom were arrested last night at Westminster Quaker Meeting House. Image © Ron Fassbender

Suffragettes stage "Defend the Right Protest" rally, Trafalgar Square, London, 6/3/26 Ahead of International Women's Day activists dressed as suffragettes - the early 20th century direct action group who helped gain women the vote - protest in Trafalgar Square in pouring rain, calling for repeal of the Public Order Act 2023 which gave police and courts yet more powers to restrict and criminalise peaceful protest activity. The women, supporters of Fossil Free London, aim to highlight the unprecedented punishments given to climate campaigns for peaceful protest. By coincidence, the event took place the same day police raided the homes of "Take Back Power" activists, many of whom were arrested last night at Westminster Quaker Meeting House. Image © Ron Fassbender

Suffragettes stage "Defend the Right Protest" rally, Trafalgar Square, London, 6/3/26 Ahead of International Women's Day activists dressed as suffragettes - the early 20th century direct action group who helped gain women the vote - protest in Trafalgar Square in pouring rain, calling for repeal of the Public Order Act 2023 which gave police and courts yet more powers to restrict and criminalise peaceful protest activity. The women, supporters of Fossil Free London, aim to highlight the unprecedented punishments given to climate campaigns for peaceful protest. By coincidence, the event took place the same day police raided the homes of "Take Back Power" activists, many of whom were arrested last night at Westminster Quaker Meeting House. Image © Ron Fassbender

Ahead of International Women's Day activists dressed as suffragettes—the direct action group who helped women get the vote—protest in Trafalgar Square, calling for repeal of the Public Order Act 2023 which gave police & courts yet more powers to restrict and criminalise peaceful protest activity.

Protest today against another illegal war by the United States and Israel, assembling at noon at Millbank and marching to the US Embassy in Nine Elms

This statement is also available on our website: netpol.org/2026/03/07/s...

Quaker Meeting House suffers second Met Police raid For the second time in less than a year, Metropolitan Police officers have raided Westminster Quaker Meeting House, arresting young activists.

"The Met Police may want to intimidate us into contributing to the govt's closing off of the right to protest... We will continue to hire space to explicitly nonviolent groups, with appropriate checks in place, just as we always have." – Clerk of Westminster Quakers www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

7/ Netpol applauds the Quakers for ensuring there is space to train people to take nonviolent direct action, despite the previous police raid of their place of worship.

We hope they continue to do so despite this police repression.

ENDS

6/ That training is treated as evidence of "conspiracy" shows just how far this has come.

5/ However, the Metropolitan Police, equipped with ever-expanding discretionary powers, are prepared to keep raiding religious spaces to arrest people for simply talking about these tactics and how to use them safely.

4/ Campaigners seeking to highlight injustice and inequality in society, using tactics that sometimes break the law, know they risk arrest.

3/ This strategy aims limit the role that protest plays in our society, so that politicians are less accountable to the people.

It is a violation of freedom of expression and association rights - not to mention freedom of religion for the Quakers.

2/ This is part of a tendency to treat protest as crime, and to attempt to prevent that crime before it has taken place. This has been deliberately encouraged by current and previous governments.

STATEMENT 1/

Last night, the Metropolitan Police raided the Westminster Quaker Meeting house – again. This time, they targeted Take Back Power's direct action training. There were 15 arrests.

Conspiracy to steal is a criminal offence. But the event raided was direct action training, rather than hatching in public the details of an actual plan (which the police will need evidence of to bring charges)

Westminster Meeting House raided by Metropolitan Police again. Statement: “For Quakers, faith and action are inseparable. Peaceful protest, prayer and nonviolent action are integral parts of many Quakers' religious life. Whilst we take the planning of criminal acts very seriously, we believe that this incident is a deliberate targeting of committed young people who want to make our country a more equitable place. This raid is part of a systematic stifling of dissent. That this is the second time in a year that the police have raided our meeting house dramatically illuminates the broader trend in the UK of cracking down on those who disagree with the government. The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy. It's a key part of how people make their voices heard between elections.” – Oliver Robertson, Head of Witness and Worship Quakers in Britain, 5 March 2026

Yesterday evening, for the second time in a year, the Met Police raided Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrested a number of young nonviolent activists.

STATEMENT: www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

🧵 Today’s news: Proton turned over payment info for a Stop Cop City account. Not good — it's state repression in action.

Controversial opinion: We don't think this means all activists should abandon Proton for docs/email.

It depends on your threat model. Let's explore.

(Long thread incoming 👇)

Our understanding is that the police's entire "intelligence" basis for the raid was "a social media post about targeting the rich" rather than specific plans for any protests actions.

Policing in the north of Ireland continues its long tradition of insisting "there's nothing to see here" when it comes to surveillance, when clearly there is

Press Association comment from Quakers in Britain This evening, for the second time in a year, the Metropolitan Police raided a Quaker Meeting House and arrested a number of young nonviolent activists who were meeting there on the grounds that they were conspiring to commit a criminal act. The room in Westminster Quaker Meeting House was let to Take Back Power to hold nonviolent direct action training. Quakers support the principle of nonviolent direct action, which aims to protest without harming people. Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship for Quakers in Britain, said: “For Quakers, faith and action are inseparable. Peaceful protest, prayer and nonviolent action are integral parts of many Quakers' religious life. “Whilst we take the planning of criminal acts very seriously, we believe that this incident is a deliberate targeting of committed young people who want to make our country a more equitable place. This raid is part of a systematic stifling of dissent. “That this is the second time in a year that the police have raided our meeting house dramatically illuminates the broader trend in the UK of cracking down on those who disagree with the government. The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy. It's a key part of how people make their voices heard between elections.”

Statement from @quaker.org.uk about tonight's police raid on Westminster Meeting House. Guys, I don't think they're buying the Met's line about it all being a cover for plotting "mass shoplifting"

Apparently the police are claiming they had plans for mass shoplifting and then the redistribution of liberated goods

Take Back Power - Tax the rich to fix Britain Britain is broken because the super rich are pocketing billions, whilst ordinary people struggle to get by. It's time to Take Back Power.

This is the group takebackpower.net

The Metropolitan Police has raided the Westminster Quaker Meeting house – again, this time targeting Take Back Power's direct action training. There were 15 arrests

BREAKING: The Met police have raided Westminster Quaker Meeting House.

AGAIN.

Once again the basis of the raid is conspiracy to protest.

It's a violation of freedom of expression & association rights. Not to mention freedom of religion for the Quakers too.

🛑 Stop Bombing Iran 🛑 Hands off the Middle East

Join Saturday's march against Trump's reckless war on Iran

🗓️ Sat 7 March
⏰ Noon
📍 Millbank to the US Embassy

‼️ Most people are against illegal US military action on Iran. Be there if you can ‼️

#NoWarOnIran #StopTrumpsWars

Pro-Palestine activist who called policeman ‘terrorist’ guilty of harassment Iman Zine was part of a protest in Westminster

Have finally found a news source for this www.mylondon.news/news/uk-worl...

The officer told the court he was so distressed that he has now given up public order duties. This is probably for the best...

Reportedly Goldspring told the defendant: "you were being obnoxious towards the police because somehow you see them as the enemy."

Somehow....

A Palestine solidarity campaigner has been convicted under POA s.5 for calling a police officer a "fucking terrorist" at a Defend Our Juries protest in Parliament Square last year. Incredibly, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring is considering a prison sentence at a hearing scheduled for 1 April

"One officer, PC Isabel Vale, said some officers were enforcing an “absolute cordon” while others were allowing people through. She did not know the first cordon had been withdrawn while the second had been “filtered” on the orders of senior officers"

Police testimony reveals lack of communication and co-ordination among officers at January 2025 PSC protest POLICE testimony in the trial of two Palestine movement leaders has revealed a lack of communication and co-ordination among officers on the ground, a court heard today.Palestine Solidarity Campaign d...

Police testimony at the trial of Chris Nineham and Ben Jamal reveals a lack of communication and co-ordination among officers enforcing restrictions at a Palestine protest in January 2025 www.morningstaronline.co.uk/article/poli...

Everything we know about the Al Quds march in London The Home Secretary has been urged to put a stop to the upcoming march over accusations of anti-Semitism and extremism

The pro-Israel lobby's usual suspects have begun their now-annual attempt to ban the Al Quds Day march organised by @ihrc.bsky.social, seeking to at least pressure the Metropolitan Police to impose severe restrictions by falsely claiming it's a "pro-Iran protest" www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/al-q...

Three women guilty of criminal damage after pro-Palestine protest at factory Hollie Mildenhall, Summer Oxlade and Georgia Coote targeted Pearson Engineering because it is owned by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, an Israeli state-owned weapons company

Three women found guilty of criminal damage after a pro-Palestine protest at a Newcastle factory owned by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, an Israeli state-owned weapons company www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-e...