Critical Mass London: Letter from Green Party to Met. Police

xxxx | 06.10.2005 15:23 | Repression | London

Jenny Jones has sent the following letter to the Commissioner of the Met Police, regarding Critical Mass. She and Darren Johnson will attend the next ride to show solidarity with fellow cyclists. They hope that others will do the same.

This recently appeared on a (not 'the') london critical mass website:

Jenny Jones has sent the following letter to the Commissioner of the Met Police, regarding Critical Mass. She and Darren Johnson will attend the next ride to show solidarity with fellow cyclists. They hope that others will do the same.

Sir Ian Blair
Metropolitan Police Commissioner
New Scotland Yard
Tower Block
N5Y

Dear Ian,
Critical Mass Bike Ride

I am writing to outline my concerns about plans to label the Critical
Mass Bike Ride as a demonstration and therefore require it to have
permission from the police as well as permission to travel through the
restriction zone around Parliament.

1) Many people do not see Critical Mass as a demonstration, but more
like a hundred people getting on the same train at London Bridge.
2) According to the public order branch of the MPS, Critical Mass
would not meet the definition of demonstration set out by the Serious
Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The bill requires that the protest is
static and has a political message.
3) Critical Mass has operated peacefully in this country for 11 years.
There is nothing to suggest that this is likely to change and the
heavy-handed application of the Serious Organised Crime Act and other
legislation is surely unnecessary.
4) Given the fact that Critical Mass has been happening for so long it
may be the case that it does not need permission under the Serious
Organised Crime Act.
5) Operational issues may arise in attempting to arrest attendees at
Critical Mass. How will the police distinguish between ordinary
commuters who are going about their business and those who are attending
Critical Mass?
6) I shall be attending the next Critical Mass as a direct response to
attempts by police to ‘crack down’ on it. I can only imagine that
dozens of other Londoners will feel similarly obliged to stand up for their
right to cycle around London.

I urge you to review this situation and allow Critical Mass to go ahead
unimpeded.

Jenny Jones
Green Party Member of the London Assembly
Mayor’s Road Safety Ambassador
Member of the Metropolitan Police Authority

xxxx
Homepage: http://criticalmasslondon.org.uk

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

Intent

06.10.2005 19:13

"Dear Ian"!!! Just think, once upon a time, there were people writing letters that began with "Dear Adolf".

I guess the Green Party were well pleased with the 7-to-the-head policy of Ian Blair, and his response afterwards, including the sickening raid on the woman that broke the truth to the people of the UK and the World.

I judge people and organisations by their words and deeds. Most of Europe's Green Parties have the nastiest of backgrounds. They are VERY effective at vacuuming up certain categories of disaffected humanity, though, and THAT is why they exist. Organised politics is usually a very dirty game.

Anyway, as for the cyclists- well they are well aware that if they act as a group, the police can treat them as a group. THIS has always been true. The trick is NOT to act as a group.

NO COMMON PURPOSE. For cyclists, surely each and ever one can just choose to go on a NICE LONG bike-ride around that part of London. A crowd of people cycling every which way they choose. There is NO LAW that can act against individuals acting lawfully as individuals, just because of the numbers of individuals doing similar things.

To travel the same route at the same time is much more problematic. However, in law, you have the right to travel from A to B, so long as the purpose is B, and not the fact that you are journeying BECAUSE other people are journeying. It is all about INTENT. To get a lot of cyclists legally on the same route at the same time, a legal destination and meeting point should be arranged, that becomes the sole reason for cyclists being on the road in the first place.

Despite the crap that the BBC etc feeds you all the time, the WORD of the law DOES matter. If your act is legal, IT IS LEGAL. Doesn't mean the thuggish forces of Blair will not harrass you, or maybe illegally detain you. Sadly, this now happens all the time. It DOES MEAN that if you care to be lawful, you CAN BE.

Know you rights before you set out. Practise defending them with others, or in your head. Its like bringing booze and fags back from Europe. Totally legal in ANY quantity, and those that know their rights do it ALL the time. Others shop legally, but have it all stolen from them by Blair's thugs because when they are questioned, they 'self-incriminate' because they do not know the law, and do not understand the concept of 'INTENT'.

twilight

Could those adding comments speak for cyclists?

06.10.2005 20:31

Some of the posters here don't ride bikes!!! Such a crime to comment on push bike related matters without having cycled or been on the critical mass! So, posters that write about what they nothing of, last Friday of this month is the time to get on a bike, to enjoy a leisurely ride and maybe a pint at the end of the evening. Look forward to seeing you all there!
Cycling at the Critical Mass is a truly beautiful experience and the petty issue of legality is neither here or there. Those plods can shove it!!!

Greg LeMond

Thing is, beautiful one

06.10.2005 21:16

One is fully entitled to comment on any matter whatsoever in a public forum such as this. I personally welcome cogent thoughts such as those put forward above by the heretic, Twilight.
In another world, yours, only aircraft pilots may have the temerity to vouchsafe an opinion on noise pollution in Hounslow.

Yours in peace.

T.

Tebbit

Greens?

07.10.2005 09:09

Why are they called The Greens when they are all Whites?

Memory-Hole-Catchers-Mitt

Green Party is OK

07.10.2005 10:25

Twilight's ill-informed rant implies that the Green Party in general and Jenny Jones in particular supported the shoot to kill policy.
In fact Jenny, in her role as a member of the metropolitan police commission (a body charged with holding the police force to 'democratic' account) has been the most outspoken opponent of the policy. Twilight has not been paying attention.

The assertion that "Most of Europe's Green Parties have the nastiest of backgrounds", is a baseless slur.
Politics may "usually (be) a very dirty game", but the Green Party is marked out by its principled, democratic ways. That's why I joined.

Call us bike-riding, lentil-eating dreamers, by all means, but to imply we are fascists is way off the mark.

retrocool

retrocool

RE Intent

07.10.2005 13:36

As usual, Twilight, your good points are mixed up with specious polemic.

The point of critical mass is to ride together in solidarity. I see a lot of arguments against mass demonstrations / gatherings from other people who remind me of you in the wake of the G8 and the increasing repression stemming from it. But most people are interested in showing solidarity with each other, they're interested in acting out of honour as much as out of political 'strategy'. Perhaps that's a problem in itself but we don't all have the time or the genius to solve it.

As for the point about intent, I find that very interesting, because many drivers choose to drive not only because they intend to go somewhere but because they intend to be seen driving, and having a certain economic status.

It's like, an A-road by dint of being heavily motorised, becomes a de-facto motorway. Why therefore, can't a city street, by dint of suddenly being filled with cyclists, become a de facto cycle path?

That's more or less the critique that CM embodies, and just because cyclists don't gather in a bunch every day, shouldn't make it illegal for them to do so. By becoming a part of the mass, we *want* to go wherever the mass goes, that's our destination..

anon

Police powers to regulate processions

09.10.2005 21:43

For more information on police power to regulate protest see the article on the freeB.E.A.G.L.E.S. website at

http://www.freebeagles.org/articles/Legal_Booklet_4/lb4-13.html

It will not be hard for the police to convince a judge that there is a organisation behind them (judges like the police find it hard to deal with the concept of autonomous, non-hierarchical actions), but actually proving that someone is 'an' organiser is going to be much more difficult.

Also, if people have not been given the letters handed out at the last CM then it is going to be more difficult for them to prove that people knowingly attendend an illegal assembly - after all you could have just heard about it from a friend of a friend and so on.

It is important that people come to this one and stand up for the right to be part of a CM; a show of strength is important, and will help tie the police's hand in the future should they try to act when the numbers settle back down again.

Will see you on the 28th.

Freedom To Protest

don quixote

15.11.2005 02:09

what a lot of shite you all talk on this site.the issues
are

1)the continued slide of this corporate hegemony towards total ,
unbridled corporate fascism

2)the total loss of ALL our civil liberties.

3)the totaly spineless , selfish and pigshite ignorance of the
average , turnip munching , cave-dwelling english peasant.

4)the fact that it only takes a few shinny bawbles and
'consumer goods' to lull a whole nation into a dribbling ,
moronic stupor.(like any ' cappo' the middle-classes will
condone any inhuman act for a bit of status and privalege.)

5)the fact that corporations can buy off as many MP's as they need
with a few 'promised directorships' , lobbyists fees
and 'consultancy' fees.(bribes or "bakshees'" .)

6)the fact that whinning once in a blue moon will change f##k all.
but hey,not one of the part-time 'chamagne socialist/anarchists' has
ever been to a housing estate so you could hardly expect them to stick
their necks out too far!

7)fascism must be resisted by ANY means necessary.no matter what it
takes , this sort of evil must be destroyed.trouble is , we are all too
well brainwashed by the corporate moronoscope (TV) and too 'comfortable'.

8)the average peasant in this land would rather watch their children choke
to death on exhaust fumes than face the horrible reality staring them in
the face.its far 'nicer' to live in a cosy , fluffy fantasy world.(just like
the one they sell you on TV!mmmmmm nice)

9)the terrorist attacks in london were carried out by british gestapo
agents (MI.5) and not a bunch of goat herders from afganistan or wherever.
this was done as a pretext for implementing a state of marshal law in england.
once UN. and european human rights laws have been 'nullified' , this job is
almost complete.whadaya all gonna do about it? yep. f#ck all.

10)it doesn't matter who is in government.they are not the people in power.
they are just front men.stuffed shirts.haven't ya noticed how the policies dont
change.duuuuuuuuuuuuuuh.

Jean-Charles Menendes was followed , chased , dragged to the floor , held down
and then cold-bloodedly murdered by a para-military death squad.that is an
indisputable fact.anyone who cant see that is a half-wit.
the question is - why was he executed? what did he know or see?or is it just
part of the greater plutocratic plan to "TERRORISE" us all into total subservience.

as for the greens - they are now part of the same system that has its jackboot
firmly planted on the back of your neck.they wont do a thing to jeopardise there
new position of privelage.power.some of them are well meaning enough people but
can you trust any organisation that is so riddled with MI5 agents it is practicaly
run by them.they should be out in the street protesting not sitting in power.

as for ..... ah fukit.whats the use... anyone know where the Weather Underground went???

heinrich himmler