When I ask, did it become acceptable to arrest anyone for something you think they might do?
Linky thing.Somewhere along the line the gubmint has managed to engender such fear, that it seems perfectly natural to arrest people in the street who are totally innocent of any crime what-so-ever.
I am not an EDL supporter folks, I find their tactics distasteful. However, they do have the right to peaceful protest in exactly the same way as anyone else in this country. According to this story, they were standing in the street and paying their respects in exactly the same manner as every other member of the public.
Some folks had threatened to burn poppies during the 2 minute silence, a nasty attempt to cause trouble in my opinion and a blatant show of utter disregard for something GB holds most sacred. No doubt most of these EDL members had a mind to prevent such an occurence if they encountered it which would not have helped the situation at all and flies in the face of everything Rememberance stands for. But the simple fact of the matter is, they did nothing unlawful in any way and were arrested in the street.
What now? Do these people get to take their case to court for wrongful arrest? Affording them the publicity they desperately desire. Looking at some of the lunatic judgements passed down lately, I cannot see any court finding in favour of the plod. If there is a law which states you can be arrested for what the authorities think you are thinking, then as a nation we are truly lost.
Boadicea's Chariot 
The three who were arrested, Furry One, are to be charged with affray, which indicates that they were involved in some sort of punch-up in a public place. This is not peaceful protest!
Other than that, I share your view of EDL tactics. I think the less attention paid to both the poster carrying hate merchants and the EDL, the better!
Minty MBE,
Yes the 3 who were having a spot of fisticuffs fair play, but the other 177?
The other 170 who were arrested and then released is a bit OTT. They were arrested under some sort of antiterrorism legislation which is a totally wrong, in my opinion. The Police are misusing these laws yet again.
I have to confess to a certain amount of sympathy with their aim of preventing trouble though!
Minty MBE,
So it is acceptable to arrest anyone on suspicion of an offence they might commit?
That is the stuff of Orwell and the not so thin end of a very nasty wedge in my opinion.
Any hoo, I must now retire to the bottom of the garden where the pen pixies have once more failed to provide me with a batch of finished masterpieces. It looks like I am going to have to do it myself again. 🙂
I shall look in later to see how things have progressed.
Good old New Zealand. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/meat-and-wool/4/4
I agree with you, Ferret.
Furry.
Yes, it is indeed Orwellian, and no, I don’t believe people should be lifted from the streets of London for some crime they may commit in the future.
Sadly though, this appears to be the basis of all the antiterrorism legislation, which as I pointed out, has been used wrongly to erode the civil liberties of its own citizens.
The trouble is, peaceful protest is a thing of the past in London, it always ends in violence and destruction, thanks to rent-a-mob. I cannot see why even peaceful protest is required during the time when we should be paying our respects to those who gave their lives for their country and to protect its freedoms.
Those who do not feel the need to do so should be ignored.
What do you expect?
They are white.
Did you notice in all the photographs of Remembrance Day there wasn’t a wog in sight?
All at home filling in their forms for another benefit or breeding more parasites.
when the thought police come we shall all be arrested.
Role on the revolution and a time when the sheep look up.
Surely, ‘protests’ should only be stopped after they start to be violent – not while they are peaceful? Why not just ban all protests on the grounds that they just might turn violent: why not ban all criticism on the grounds that it might ‘incite’ people to violence – why not just legislate free thought and speech away….
As to ignoring those who are determined to denigrate and desecrate the cultural customs of the society in which they have chosen to live and benefit from – give them a short, sharp lecture on Fit In or… the UK does not stop anyone from leaving the country to go and live in places where their opinions and attitudes prevail.
Thank you Boadicea,
My whole point in a nutshell. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ is one thing but ‘probably guilty just in case you try it’ is a whole other samovar of piscatorials.