LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 16.02.09. Photographers stage a mass photo taking event outside New Scotland Yard on Monday 16 February 2009 in London, England. The event, called by the National Union of Journalists, marked the enforcement date of Section 76 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 which could prevent the media and public from taking pictures of the police. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2009. All rights reserved.

“ConDem Government brings in emergency terrorism power to stop & search” – marcvallee.co.uk

The following motion, proposed by yours truly, was passed overwhelming last night at the National Union of Journalists London Photographers’ Branch.

“This Branch is greatly concerned by the introduction of the emergency stop and search power Section 47A of the Terrorism Act 2000.

“This Branch agrees that police stop and search powers that do not require suspicion of an individual have and can impact on journalists right to report and record events.”

Now the Branch can start campaigning along with the I’m Photographer Not a Terrorist! campaign against this new stop and search power.

Watch this space!

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 26.03.11. A member of Barclays Bank security films protesters through a window at Piccadilly Circus as small groups of anarchists clashed with police on Saturday 26 March 2011. Early the Trades Union Congress (TUC) held a peaceful mass demonstration against government cuts in central London. More than half million people attended the march and rally from all walks of life and from many different parts of Britain. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2011. All rights reserved.

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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 05.04.08. A police photographer from the Metropolitan Police’s Forward Intelligence Team documents the contents of a sketchbook as police conduct a stop and search on a man and a women in Trafalgar Square, London, England on Saturday 5th April 2008. Pro-Tibet demonstrators arrive in London ahead of protests due to take place along the route of the Olympic Torch on Sunday 6th April 2008. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2008.

“PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF TERRORISM – The Terrorism Act 2000 (Remedial) Order 2011” – legislation.gov.uk

Yesterday the government laid a written ministerial statement to both houses of Parliament. The emergency measure, “Prevention And Suppression Of Terrorism – The Terrorism Act 2000 (Remedial) Order 2011” brings back stop and search powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 from today.

Home Secretary Theresa May announced on the 26 January 2011 that the review of counter-terrorism powers made recommendation that the Government should consider whether the police needed new stop and search power more quickly.

Early this month Theresa May announced that, “given the current threat environment” she had “concluded that the police do need the powers more quickly” and that “the most appropriate way of meeting the legal and operational requirements concerning the counter-terrorism stop and search powers exercisable without reasonable suspicion is to make a remedial order” in the “interests of national security”.

The remedial order replaces Sections 44 to 47 of the Terrorism Act 2000 and with Section 47A.

From today Section 47A will give a “senior police officer” the power to seek an authorisation from the Home Office in “relation to a specified area or place” if the officer “reasonably suspects that an act of terrorism will take place” and “considers that the authorisation is necessary to prevent such an act.”

If authorisation is given a “constable in uniform” will have the power “to stop a pedestrian” without any reasonable suspicion in the specified area and to search them and “anything carried by them”.

This emergency measure brings back stop and search powers that could impact on photographers and journalists right to report and the right of a citizen to make a picture in a public place.

The timing should not go unnoticed, the largest protest against the governments austerity measures and enforced transfer of billions of pounds from the public sector to the private sector will be taking place on the 26th March 2011.

In January I told the British Journal of Photography:

“The devil is always in the detail, and after reading the Home Office review it is clear that the coalition government is planning to give the police new stop-and-search powers to get around the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling. I do not think for one minute that these new powers will protect photographers from harassment and abuse from the police on the streets of Britain, far from it.”

BOLTON, UNITED KINGDOM – 20.03.10. Far right nationalist campaigners congregate in Bolton on Saturday 10 March 2010 in Lancashire, England. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2010.

“Islamists spark anger after calling for gay-free zone in East London” – pinkpaper.com

“Gay groups divided over East End Pride march” – Hackney Citizen.

On the 15 February 2011, the Pink Paper ran a story headlined, “Islamists spark anger after calling for gay-free zone in East London.” The paper reported that stickers with homophobic slogans “were distributed around the Whitechapel, Shoreditch and Poplar areas.”

In response to the stickering campaign, the group East End Gay Pride are organising a demonstration on the 2nd April 2011, with the backing from Pride London and the local commercial gay scene.

But the demonstration does not have unanimous support. Recently, a voluntary community group called Out East which formed in 2010 to organise the Hackney Queer Pride event, published an open letter calling on eastenders to boycott the march.

Out East allege that some of East End Gay Pride’s organisers have links with the far-right English Defence League (EDL). Out East also claim that East End Gay Pride have “banned” anti-fascist groups, including Unite Against Fascism, from attending the demonstration.

On the 12 March 2011, the Hackney Citizen picked up the story, reporting that gay groups were “divided over East End Gay Pride march”. In a statement on their website, East End Gay Pride say the event has “absolutely nothing” to do with the EDL. They go on to say that, “any person or persons attempting to display any banners from any political pressure groups will be asked to leave the rally immediately.”

The far-right EDL have no place on a gay pride demonstration but radical political groups, with track records of fighting homophobic attacks do. At best it is naive for East End Gay Pride to think otherwise. After all folks, Stonewall was a riot!

So, to sum up, a gay pride event that may or may not have links with the far-right EDL will protest against homophobic posters and stickers in East London that may or may not have been put out by right-wing political Islamists, or the EDL, and at the same time will ban radical and progress political groups from joining in.

East London on the 2 April is one to watch.

Update – 15.03.11: The online gay news service Pink News are reporting that Raymond Berry, one of the organisers of East End Gay Pride demonstration, has resigned after it was revealed that he had been a “leading” member of the far-right EDL and is currently involved in other far right groups.

Update – 17.03.11: Yesterday veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell issued the following statement, “OutRage! is not supporting East London Gay Pride, following the revelation of links between some of the organisers and the right-wing English Defence League (EDL). I have also withdrawn my personal support. We fear the march will be exploited and hijacked by the far right to create divisions and stir up intolerance against Muslim people,”

Later on yesterday the remaining organisers of East End Gay Pride canceled the demonstration. Interestingly, at no point did Pride London call for the demonstration to be investigated, postponed or canceled. The question is why?

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 03.03.11. Journalists and media workers demonstrate outside the Department of Culture Media and Sport, to oppose Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation bid to buy the satellite broadcaster BSkyB, on Thursday 3rd March 2011. The National Union of Journalists said that the decision, by culture secretary Jeremy Hunt, to allow News Corp to take full control of BSky was bad news for democracy and media plurality. Some 333,000 people have signed an online petition opposing the buyout and the Guardian Media Group, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Mirror and BT also oppose the News Corp bid. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2011. All rights reserved.

“It’s a whitewash – What a way to decide media policy! -Stop the Murdoch power grab for BSkyB” – Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom.

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