On Saturday twenty fourth January 2015, eight years in the past, I photographed three protests in opposition to the substitute of our so-called unbiased nuclear deterrent, Trident with new nuclear submarines and missiles and Occupy Democracy asserting the fitting to protest and difficult the try by then London Mayor Boris Johnson to forestall protests in Parliament Sq..
Christian CND in opposition to Trident Alternative – St Martins-in-the-Fields to Whitehall
I started work at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Sq. with a Christian CND service. Thet held a protracted piece of the seven mile knitted pink peace scarf which had been joined collectively the earlier August between the UK atomic bomb factories at Burghfield and Aldermaston on Nagasaki Day in a protest in opposition to the mindless waste of £100bn in changing Trident missiles, which might clearly breach the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
CND has since revised the determine of the prices of this mindless programme, which was acknowledged by the defence minister within the parliamentary debates and within the November 2015 Nationwide Safety Technique and Strategic Defence and Safety Evaluation to be £31 billion. This turned out to be merely the estimate for the 4 new submarines. Utilizing authorities figures CND later calculated the whole price to be £205 billion, nicely over a 12 months’s whole spending on the NHS. And naturally like all defence programmes it is going to find yourself costing significantly extra. After all price is just not the primary cause why individuals oppose nuclear weapons however that is a completely mindless waste of assets that needs to be put to higher use.
After their temporary service they walked with the half so the headscarf to the primary CND protest in opposition to Trident substitute outdoors the Defence Ministry.
Christian CND in opposition to Trident Alternative
Wrap Up Trident’ surrounds Defence Ministry – Whitehall
A number of thousand CND supporters met on the Defence Ministry earlier than surrounding the block with a knitted peace scarf after which shifting off for a rally reverse the Homes of Parliament calling for the scrapping of the UK’s Trident missiles.
A bunch held the entrance of the headscarf outdoors the Ministry of Defence constructing in Horseguards Avenue after which led off down Whitehall, left into Bridge St and left once more up the Embankment and again to the MOD. Whereas the leaders set off with the headscarf at a cracking tempo, gaps quickly developed additional again as these including lengths from the numerous rolls of scarf had been unable to maintain up. So whereas there was way more scarf than wanted to wrap the entire block – and it went forwards and backwards on the river aspect of the ministry – it could by no means have totally joined up fully.
When the main group arrived again on the MOD there the place definitely individuals unfold out alongside the entire of the course holding elements of the knitting, and most appeared at a lack of what they had been speculated to do subsequent. Ultimately the message got here for them to stroll on and take their items of knitting again to the MOD.
Right here the knitted and crocheted lengths of scarf had been rolled up. Quite than being wasted most of it was later was blankets for refugees, with only a few of the extra attention-grabbing lengths being retained for additional protests and shows.
The CND supporters then marched the brief distance down Whitehall and Parliament Road and on to Outdated Palace Yard the place they had been to carry a rally.
Many extra footage at ‘Wrap Up Trident’ surrounds Defence Ministry.
CND Scrap Trident rally at Parliament – Outdated Palace Yard,
Among the many audio system had been on the rally had been Lindsay German,
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MEP Julie Ward, Shahrar Ali, the Deputy Chief of the Inexperienced Social gathering,
Kate Hudson and
Bruce Kent of CND,
Rebecca Johnson, an internationally-recognized skilled on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation,
Heather Wakefield of UNISON, the Rt Revd Alan Williams, Bishop of Brentwood, Khalil Charles from the Muslim Affiliation of Britain, Ben Griffin, of Veterans for Peace,
and Angie Zetter, who thought up the thought of the peace scarf.
The rally ended with a brand new track composed for the event by Leon Rosselson. There are extra footage together with all of the audio system and people within the crowds on the rally at CND Scrap Trident rally at Parliament.
Occupy defy GLA ban on Democracy – Parliament Sq.
As individuals streamed away from the CND Trident protest, a number of hundred supporters of Occupy Democracy most of whom had been on the CND protest walked on to the grass of Parliament Sq. to carry discussions on international relations and battle because the GLA non-public safety guards (Heritage wardens) and police watched.
This was one among a sequence of month-to-month occasions wherein Occupy are asserting the fitting to protest and difficult the try by London Mayor Boris Johnson to forestall protests in Parliament Sq..
Police and the Mayor’s ‘Heritage Wardens’ watched the protest. I adopted the wardens as they went throughout to the police and requested them to take motion to cease the protest. Police lacked the officers wanted to take efficient motion and if that they had tried to take action many extra of these leaving the CND protest would have joined these on the sq.. They instructed the wardens that the protesters would ultimately depart of their very own accord, which apparently they did a couple of hours later.
Extra footage at Occupy defy GLA ban on Democracy.
Tags: 7 mile scarf, Aldermaston, Angie Zetter, Boaris Johnson, Books not bombs, Bruce Kent, Burghfield, Christian CND, CND, Defence Ministry, GLA protest ban, Heather Wakefield, heritage wardens, Jeremy Corbyn, Kate Hudson, Leon Rosselson, Lindsey German, London, march, MOD, NHS not Bombs, nuclear bomb manufacturing facility, nuclear deterrent, Occupy Democracy, Outdated Palace Yard, parliament sq., peace scarf, peter Marshall, police, protest, Rebecca Johnson, Scrap Trident, seven mile scarf, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Cease the Struggle, Cease Trident, Trident, waste of cash, Wrap Up Trident
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