Arrests At Peaceful ID Card Protest in Edinburgh
Jul 1st, 2008 • Category: Lead Story, UK: ID Cards
The Home Office yesterday held a “consultation” meeting in Edinburgh on the plan to impose ID Cards and a huge, intrusive National Identity Register (NIR). Despite repeated requests, campaign group NO2ID were refused permission to attend. NO2ID Scotland rightly declared the “consultation” a sham and staged a peaceful protest at the event.
The Home Office responded to this exercise in free speech by having a number of the protesters arrested (the BBC reports nine arrests). A protester reports:
“One of our members entered the room: as soon as he tried to speak, he was violently ejected by security personnel. Two other members were registered as attendees (in their own names, as No2ID had been refused entry as an organisation), and yet when they went to fetch proof of identity so they could collect their name badges, the registration desk was conveniently closed in their absence. The hotel management agreed that we could leave after filming an interview with STV, which we did, apart from those members who were registered conference attendees. They continued to wait, peacefully and with the agreement of hotel staff, outside the meeting room. After we had been waiting for half an hour for the Home Office officials to “find” our members’ registrations, the police turned up and detained us: we of course cooperated with them. At no time was our behaviour anything other than peaceful and restrained - more than can be said for the Home Office’s.”
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said:
“When government ministers refuse to attend public meetings but instead hide behind secretly organised ‘consultation’ meetings, we know New Labour is losing the plot.
“But when peaceful protesters are arrested for simply standing up against a government’s abuse of power, then anyone who cares about liberty should be outraged.”
Guy Herbert of NO2ID commented:
“Regardless of whether anybody is charged it is an extraordinary action for the police to take. NO2ID is an entirely peaceful and lawful organisation. It looks like someone has been arrested simply to avoid embarrassing a minister. It shows the need for people to protest even more.”
Related posts:
•First ID Card Guinea Pigs Named
•Young People Slam ID Card Scheme
•Airline Industry Attacks ID Card Plans
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I stumbled across this protest yesterday and to hear that some were charged makes me so angry…they were very peaceful! ..not even shouting! and even walked unassisted to the cop cars. Iv even got photo’ s of this.
Patrick Harvie is correct.. New Labour is losing the plot.
Why bother protesting, ID is is dead, Labour has shown that its incapable of looking after personal data and neither the Tories Lib-Dems support it. In two years time Labour will be lucky to have 50 elected MPs in Parliament, you have wasted your bus fare into Edinburgh.
We protest because the meeting hosted by Meg Hillier was private intended for business holders rather than public as it should have been.
We protest because Meg Hillier has never agreed to a public meeting to address the concerns of the public.
We protest because ID is not dead until it is dead.
I didn’t waste my bus fare protesting against a scheme that is expensive, intrusive and dangerous.
I got arrested for exercising my right to peacefully protest and i am proud to have activelty stood up for what i believe in. I am distressed about the parking ticket I recieved whilst in detention however.