[Applause]
Well, the protest was due to start at
6:00, but actually by then there were
probably already 50 or so people here
and it was all very peaceful. They were
waving flags. There was a little uh
flurry of tension as people arrived with
um flares at about quart 6. They were
shouting send them back. But then it all
calmed down when they were uh sent
behind the barriers and there was
singing of Sweet Caroline, beeping of
horns as cars went past at 7:00. They
then headed a mile up the road uh to the
council offices. There were shouts of
shame on you. There was a tension, bit
of pushing and shoving with the police
and that was when the first of three
arrests were made. Now the police have
made it very clear uh that actually it
wasn't because uh she had unfurled a
union flag on the steps of the council
offices. It was in fact because she
breached a section 14 order that
police's restrictions and exactly where
the protests can be held that didn't
include the civic center. So that was
arrest number one. There was also
another arrest of a man because he'd
refused to leave at the end of the
protest. It should have finished at
8:00. and then a third uh arrest uh on
suspicion of inciting racial hatred in
relation to uh an incident that was said
to have happened on Friday here in
Eping. Uh so I think it's important to
give the context of all of this. There
have been protests in Eping throughout
the summer in the middle of July. There
was uh the alleged assault on a school
girl that's going through the courts at
the moment. is denied that but it caused
a lot of protest. Then there was that
high court ruling that temporary
injunction that should have meant in
theory uh week on Friday everyone should
have been gone from here all 138 people
but then that was overruled in the in
the in the court of appeal. And so now
we're seeing this flaring up of protest.
There were three arrests here on Friday.
Two people have been charged. the three
arrests here today and then further
protests elsewhere. There were five
arrests in West Straight and near
Heathro yesterday. All sorts of
protesters a many of them uh were
peaceful but also one at Canary War.
Four arrests there. A policeman
allegedly punched in the face. So you
can tell that it is really uh gaining
momentum again and this headache for the
government is certainly not going