I warned yesterday about the bleak prospects for peace in Tower Hamlets on Saturday as both the EDL and Unite Against Fascism bus supporters from across the country to Whitechapel.
One reader of this blog pointed out that both “protests” are due to be staged next to Sainsbury’s and Whitechapel Market on the busiest shopping day of the week. The probability of mayhem and major disruption for ordinary people wanting to carry out their chores is growing.
While Respect’s Fozol Miah is helping to organise the counter-demo, the Labour party in Tower Hamlets, including Josh Peck, Rushanara Ali and John Biggs, is taking a different and wiser line. They have just issue the below press release:
Labour calls for calm
After leading the campaign to ban the EDL marching through Tower Hamlets, the East End’s Labour politicians have now called for counter demonstrations to be called off
The Home Secretary banned the EDL from marching in Tower Hamlets after a successful local campaign, led by Labour, including delivering a 25,000 strong petition to the Metropolitan Police and Cllr Joshua Peck, Rushanara Ali and Jim Fitzpatrick MP’s and John Biggs AM writing to her to personally to ask for an intervention.
The EDL have vowed to come to Tower Hamlets on Saturday regardless and hold a static demonstration. Campaign group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) have indicated they will gather to oppose the EDL’s visit.
Additional police will be drafted in to help deal with any potential incidents.
Joshua Peck, Labour Group Leader said:
‘It is important that residents stay at home and let the police deal with any visit by the EDL and they should be reassured that extra officers will be in place to help this weekend pass without incident. I would ask that anyone planning to hold or attend a counter demonstration reconsiders – the safest thing for everyone is to remain calm and let the police do their job’
John Biggs AM said:
‘I know how strongly many people feel about this event. It is important that we react with dignity and restraint and trust the police to tightly manage the demonstration. I have confidence that they are able and prepared to do so. What will destabilise this will be any outbreak of disorder.’
Rushanara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow said:‘I urge people to remain calm and level-headed. I don’t want the EDL in my constituency in any form, but the best answer is to turn our backs on these people and let the police deal with them.’
Trial by Jeory 
Well said by all three!
There’s only way to deal with people who aim to provoke and bully and that’s for us – the public – to ignore them.
Let’s give the police plenty of space to deal with ALL those who seek to harass the ordinary people of Tower Hamlets or provoke public disorder.
We should also remember that the cost of all of this is coming out of the cash-strapped budget for policing our local community. Let’s leave some money in the coffers for dealing with the rest of the anti-social behaviour in Tower Hamlets!
Can we now hear from the Mayor and other political leaders in Tower Hamlets?
Yeah – he’s been pretty vocal but you won’t here it on this blog.
Try http://mayorlutfurrahman.wordpress.com
What actually happened if you follow the whole thing is that the call for the ban came from Hope Not Hate and Lutfur, well able to see which way the wind was blowing, decided to go with the flow and distance himself from his UAF/Respect/iIFE backers and cheer leaders.
I think this is the end of whatever credibility that UAF had with the unions and the liberal left. Their calls for a demo at the corner of Vallance and Whitechapel Roads is a sick joke given that the District line isn’t working and Whitechapel station is closed. The instructions are to go to Bethnal Green and take the 254 or 106 buses which may take them right past where the EDL are congregating.
UAF are spoiling for a fight and it is to be hoped that the police manage to spoil their fun.
This is an absolute disgrace, and I can’t believe Labour MPs are behind this. It’s an own goal to get any protest banned, it sets a precedent that will now be used time and time again, for all kinds of causes such as direct action on tax evasions, climate protests, you name it. There’ll always be a reason for banning them on grounds of disorder.
And then to follow that up by attempting to silence anti racism campaigners is for me the final straw with the Labour party – and the left in general.
People wonder why the country is rioting. Banning demos makes that far more likely than not. Utter illiberal idiocy.
Mind you I am surprised that the extreme left have any time to provoke violence when they are so busy disrupting Israeli concerts with their childish behavior. That was an own goal if ever there was one. Maybe you should call yourself Deadhead instead. A much more apt description.
Ban or no ban there would be trouble either way and the debate is mainly a more abstract one about liberty v public order. Which as a vaguely left vaguely libertarion middle aged type wanting a quiet weekend ( the riots were enough, one smashed window and a few nights of anxiety leaves me undecided as to the merits of a ban.
Personally I’m going to wander down to a local shop I regularly use, run by British Asians, on MERd, a hundred or so yards from Sainsbury’s, and go about my business. If any EDL want to make an issue of it then ‘(your choice) ’em’.
And the UAF can (your choice) as well.
Came back this morning on the bus from Liverpool Street through Whitechapel to Bow. Liverpool Street absolutely wall to wall riot vans (is now a good time to send out a big London hello to the Strathclyde vans that had travelled many miles south to join in?). The station was crawling with cops as was every street and office building from Liverpool Street to Aldgate (yes, going into the offices on a Saturday morning). Helicopters overhead.
I hadn’t seen this blog for a couple of days so didn’t know that the SWP had made an official announcement about gathering although I wasn’t surprised to see them with their stand on Whitchapel Road.
Police along the complete length of Whitechapel Road and Mile End Road all the way up to Mile End station. All looking ready to act against anyone that puts a toe out of order but I know they’re also exhausted by everything that’s been going on in the last month. My overwhelming feeling: utter sadness.
Sorry, probably not relevant to anything posted above. I agree with Ted – it’s going to be very ugly but I wish it didn’t have to be.
[…] no doubt come out in due course but I imagine we’ll be talking serious numbers. As Labour had called for the UAF/UEE counter-demo to be cancelled, they will be able to exploit those numbers when taxpayers realise what they’ve had to fork […]