Police blog post about LWS on 30 April!
Conflict averted in Hyde Park
Sunday was to prove more problematic with the focus switching to Hyde Park. The situation at issue was one which I and doubtless many others are not wholly across but had caused considerable friction over the past few months. On one side are the trans community and their allies while they have been vigorously opposed by women’s groups who hold contrary views, one of which concerns ‘safe spaces for women.’ The ‘Let Women Speak’ (LWS) campaign includes, so I’m informed, leftist Lesbian organisations. However, several faces from the far right, which included those seen protesting against the Drag Queen story-time events, were reportedly amongst the ranks of LWS.
The Trans allies include anti-fascist groups who claim that because of their hostility towards aspects of the Trans community, the LWS movement and their leader ‘Posie’ consist of Fascists. If those reading this are confused then they would be in the company of those, like me, who were observing events on Sunday.
The LWS meeting began to gather under the Reformer’s Tree and, in all honesty, the rather resembled that of a gentle Women’s Institute meeting.
A walk across the park saw the gathering of the anti-Fascist opposition. They had been instructed to bring masks and dress in nondescript clothing. Amongst several flags could be seen were those sporting LGBT colours. They numbered about 150 and suddenly set off chanting, ‘No terfs on our turf.’ (A terf is defined as a ‘trans-exclusionary radical feminist).
The masked, chanting group looked menacing as the gap between them and those under the Reformer’s Tree closed. The escorting police officers however, neatly manoeuvred the group in a direction which diverted them away from the LWS gathering whose numbers had considerably increased. Officers formed a cordon in front of the trans group who continued to chant adding ‘Who protects the fascists? The police protect the fascists,’ to their repertoire.
There were two minor scuffles during the course of the morning and, park-by laws meant that neither side was able to use a megaphone or any other amplified equipment. The LWS groups, who by now outnumbered the pro-trans, anti-fascists, were remarkably sanguine about the presence of the rivals. Their ‘leader,’ the reviled ‘Posie Parker’ aka Kellie-Jay Keen who is the head of the Standing for Women’ organisation, gathered everyone together for a series of speeches.
The pro-Trans group tried twice to outflank the police in order to somehow get to their rivals but were easily thwarted on each occasion. At one stage, LWS stewards formed a line behind the police cordon, presumably in case their masked protagonists broke through the police line but were quickly persuaded that this wasn’t necessary.
A number of pro-trans activists then caused some amusement by unfurling umbrellas and holding them in front of their already masked faces to frustrate identification by police and press.
The LWS meeting finished with cheering and applause and Posie left escorted by bodyguards, stewards and a number of her supporters. Others remained, chatting in small unconcerned groups before drifting away but not before a brief chant of ‘there’s more of us than you,’ was directed against their rivals. Whilst, as stated, the gathering had all the demeanour of a Women’s Institute event, the literature handed out to passer’s by was uncompromising in its tone.
The large police presence, complete with six mounted officers and several TSG carriers was however necessary given the animosity seen on social media which included a death threat and the fact that Posie Parker had tomato soup thrown over her at a previous event; the photos taken at the time suggested that she had been the victim of a bloody attack; a useful propaganda tool.
Section in a much longer article looking at police activity in the past week in London, including XR, marathon and other public events https://www.policeoracle.com/news/uniformed_operations/2023/May/03/protest-city-central--a-public-order-countdown-to-the-big-day_110941.html