12 year old and anti-terrorist officers

[WelshCerys]

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/10/schoolboy-quizzed-cameron-office-picket

Seems to be an extraordinary reaction to a year 7 protest. Perhaps it's going too far to say that the police are becoming politicised but it's tempting ...
Troubled by this.

Poor kid. And if I was his mum I'd be filing s formal complaint - threatening a 12 year old with arrest without a parent or guardian present.. not really on, is it?

-quizzed-cameron-office-picket link

sound like a bunch of power crazed jobsworths.

link

Knowingly planning an assembly without notifying the police is an offence. He was interviewed because he was (unknowingly) breaking the law.

These are fair points
However, this child was interviewed at his school without either parent present, or invited to be so.
There's a big difference between telling him about his responsibilities as protest organiser and, according to the boy's own report, talk of arrests. And anti-terrorist offices? Seems a disproportionate response.

They didn't threaten him with arrest, they informed him that under the law he could quite possibly face arrest.

And his parents were present, kind of - the school is in loco parentis, and the article says his head of year accompanied him.

The article doesn't say it was anti-terrorist officers that interviewed him, just that they contacted the school - a regular officer interviewed him. Besides, it's not like 'anti-terrorist' officers would have interviewed him in full riot gear, that's just the department that deals with assemblies/marches.

Really nothing notable here, just a child informed that they may be breaking the law.

The child is my nephew and I'm rather proud of him! Is it illegal for him to protest outside Cameron's office to highlight the plight of his youth club - assuming the group who organised the protest informed the police?
I'd love to say he is politically active at 12, but in truth the protest was organised by "Save our Youth Centres", he just set up the FB group.
I am not sure if they let the police know.
He wasn't just told that holding a protest is unlawful unless you have told the police, he was intimidated:
"if David Cameron was in, his armed officers will be there 'so if anything out of line happens ...' and then he stopped."

Why don't any of the links work? No idea what you're talking about because links just don't work? But interested.

I have done my nephew a disservice, he actually set up the group "Save our Youth Centres".
He got paid for his interview with the Mirror and is apparently giving that money to the cause. I don't think I'd do the same if I was in his position. I would advise him that since he has no computer at home - he uses the one at Youth Club and the Library, he should buy one for home so that he will have it when the youth club inevitably closes.

Well, both the police and school have now admitted they were in the wrong. A senior officer rang Nicky's mother and made a grovelling apology - he regrets and apologises for the impact the officer's behaviour had on the family.

The school have also confrirmed they should not have allowed the police interview to go ahead without his parents being informed, and have similarly apologised.

www.witneygazette.co.uk/news/8736991.Police_say_sorry_to_12_year_old/

Good for Nicky!