On Wednesday evening, thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors congregated to pray in support of Gaza. Roads were blocked off, and the adhan (the Muslim call to prayer) was broadcast at a dizzying volume. Where was this you might ask? Just outside Downing Street of course – where else?
The demonstration was revealing more for what didn’t happen, than for what did. Not only did no arrests take place, the police seemed content to watch on meekly from the periphery. This represents something of a break from tradition, as the UK constabulary customarily takes a harsh line on matters of religion – at least, where Christianity is concerned.
In 2019, 64-year-old Oluwole Ilesanmi was arrested for preaching outside Southgate tube station. Video footage reveals the arresting officer claiming Ilesanmi was “causing problems, disturbing people’s days” and that “no one wants to hear that. They want you to go away.” In 2020, it was the turn of Hazel Lewis, a cancer survivor who had dared to preach a biblical message outside Finsbury Park tube. A year later, David McConnell, a street preacher in Leeds was arrested, convicted and handed an 80-hour community order for causing offence to a ‘transwoman’, Farrah Munir. Munir had asked whether God was accepting of the LGBT community, and was told (correctly in biblical terms) that “Homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of God”.
Perhaps the most tenuous use of UK law to clamp down on free speech and free expression, are the ‘public spaces protection orders’ which came into effect in 2014. The orders are allegedly designed to prohibit activities which “have a detrimental effect on the quality of life” in public places; in reality, they appear to be little more than legal censorship. Thus far, they have been used to create ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics, to prevent pregnant women from being harassed. This might appear a sensible measure, until you hear the case of Isabel Vaughan-Spruce.
Isabel, a dangerous Catholic woman armed with a double-barrelled surname, was arrested twice for the crime of ‘silent prayer’, on the pretext that such prayers amounted to ‘intimidation’; yes, you read that correctly. What was particularly egregious about her case wasn’t simply the 6 burly officers the MET Police dispatched to deal with her, but the non-sensical conversation she was forved to endure prior to her arrest:
Officer: The Public Space Protection Order says not to be stood out here, doesn’t it?
Isabel: No, it says not to protest; I’m not protesting.
Officer: Yeah, protest. But people know who you are and they know why you’re here.
Isabel: Then they’ll know I’m not protesting.
Officer: But they will. The people who persistently phone us, which are the residents, and the people who use this place, are the ones that say that they know—and it’s their perception of events isn’t it?
Isabel: I’m silently praying, and that’s all I’m doing.
Officer: OK, and it’s their perception of events which is that you’re protesting. Now I get what you’re saying, I completely understand where you’re coming from. But it’s people’s perceptions, isn’t it?
Other people’s perceptions – surely, that effectively criminalises any action – provided someone can be dredged up who disagrees with you? But at least it proves one thing – the police have the capacity to take matters of religion seriously, at least when it suits them.
However, one religion consistently manages to fly beneath the radar where the police are concerned. Contrast the force’s apparent war on Christianity with their treatment of the Muslim congregations, who regularly take over the streets of London (and Britain generally), whenever the mood takes them. Whether it’s Berwich Street, Soho, Brune Street, Spitalfields, Newgate Street, City of London, or outside the Woolwich Mosque, the modus operandi is the same: roads are effectively shut down, the adhan is blasted, and the public are forced to wait.
The usual justification for this practice, is that it is necessitated by the lack of available spaces for indoor prayer. However, with at least ten mosques within a mile of (for example) Berwick Street, this would seem unlikely. A much more credible explanation, is that these public displays are ‘in your face’ shows of strength: ‘We’re here, we’re taking over, and there’s nothing you can do about it’.
In Britain, we are constantly informed by the police that the greatest threat to national security is ‘far-right extremism’, which (upon inspection) usually turns out to be Brexit voters and lockdown sceptics – at least, judging by the police response. However, when the public are inconvenienced or under attack from Just Stop Oil, Black Lives Matter, Antifa or Hamas supporters – i.e. the far-left, the police are invariably content to look on unmoved, make the tea, or kneel in submission. In the case of Islam, that’s hardly surprising either. Earlier this year, an Islamic terrorist admitted plotting to shoot a Christian preacher at Speaker’s Corner. Like the rest of the authorities, the police have clearly decided it’s easier to silence the Christians if you want peace.
Faced with the recent wave of Just Stop Oil attacks on the capital, the Home Office handed the police extra powers to deal with unruly protests. And yet, even as the police declare antisemitic ‘hate crime’ is up 1,350% since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict, they have still ordered a Jewish charity to switch off the billboards of missing children in central London; you’ve got to make sure the right people aren’t offended, haven’t you?
In terms of protest, Downing Street was always a different matter to the rest of the country. After all, you can’t expect the government to be hindered by their own laissez-faire policies. Earlier this year, Just Stop Oil protestors were removed unceremoniously from Downing Street, where it appeared the officers in attendance still remembered their oath of allegiance. However, even in the space of a fortnight since the Israel attack, , the government is already backtracking on its initial tough stance. Last week, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was unequivocal that such protests should not go ahead: “There is no need, there is no necessity for people to come out. It causes distress.” By Friday, this has morphed into the submission that pro-Palestine marchers have the right to protest, but that they should “be mindful” of the “fear and distress felt by many families in this country”.
Such an unmistakable capitulation cannot be viewed alternatively. If the authorities truly intend to treat Islam with kid gloves in perpetuity, they might as well roll out Sharia law nationwide, and admit that non-Muslims are second-class citizens.
The biggest threat to national security in Britain isn’t ‘white supremacy’, it’s the carte blanche afforded Islam – and judging by this latest show of strength outside Downing St, the authorities aren’t even pretending to be even-handed any more.
Frank Haviland is the Editor of The New Conservative, and the author of Banalysis: The Lie Destroying the West.
This piece first appeared in The European Conservative, and is reproduced by kind permission.
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What is clear now is that whereas the role of the police was once to enforce the law; now they interpret it,. and enforce THEIR interpretation of the law.
This is completely unacceptable and needs addressing.
Moral laziness hatches cowardice and cowards are bullies; that is the condition of the police today throughout Britain.
We all know why this is. Harass Christians as much as you like, you won’t get a knife in your chest or your head kicked in. It’s quite another matter with Muslims. The government and police are **** scared of them going on the rampage.
The bigger issue here should be about free speech and the right to peaceful. It should apply to all equally. Britain does not do that which is not a good sign.