It's All Kicking Off

She would have loved it

2013-04-17T13:57:00.002-07:00

I'm a die hard Brit. As an ex guardsman I took part in plenty of ceremonial events, but to be honest, when you are serving, they are a pain in the arse. They are something that gets in the way of going on the piss the night before. That was years ago though, now I love watching. There is a great sense of national pride when watching our forces do their stuff. This was summed up by the kind lady from the British Association of Journalists who let me shoot the funeral procession from the windows of her office in Fleet Street. The Scots Guards were marching into position to do the street-lining when she remarked "You know, no one does it as good as us Brits, do they?"

No One does it like the Brits, do they?

I had heard gossip that the protesters were going to gather at Ludgate Circus on the funeral procession route. As it happens, my pre arranged vantage point was about 200 yards away from them. The crowds began lining the route in earnest around 1000hrs. In some places on Fleet St, they were 6 or 7 deep. The Old Bill were in their best dress uniforms, including white gloves and medals, nice to see instead of the high vis stuff we have become used to.

The gun carriage carrying the coffin was due at 1050. Looking down at the crowds on the pavement opposite me, there were young, old, black, white, all sorts. The protesters were kept at Ludgate Circus. As the sound of the band which was leading the cortege approached, there was a noticeable silence fell over the crowd. The protesters were still chanting their bile, but by now a line of cops in 'normal uniform' were lined up in front of them, just in case.

As the gun carriage and coffin passed by, there was a real 'hairs on the back of your neck stand up' moment. The crowd were clapping, they carried on clapping as the coffin passed and managed to drown out the protesters.

The most emotional moment for me was when after the service in St Pauls ended, the gun carriage and escort of Royal Horse Artillery came past again, where as before, the carriage carried the coffin, draped in the Union Flag, this time, the gun carriage was empty. There was a finality to that moment!

F*ck Bobby Sands, he's dead!

A last word on the protesters. 99% of the placards I saw were carrying the logo of the Socialist Worker. For those that don't know, this is a publication put out by The Socialist Workers Party. At every protest I have covered, and there have been many, they have a trestle table set up well before the event, to try to flog this rag. They also supply hundreds of placards which no-one ever uses. Those manning the table are usually elderly, well dressed folk sporting a cheeky wee line in zip up knitwear or plastic kaguls. Whether it is a demo by the Congolese complaining about the west plundering the resources of the DRC, or a protest by trans-gender Big Issue sellers claiming equal rights to maternity pay, the SWP are there with copies of their papers to sell. They have aways struck me as a sort of relatively harmless distant relative with Parkinsons disease, who would only be dangerous if he took to playing with power tools while unsupervised. Today I learnt this is not the case. The placards they had handed out referred to support for the miners (ok, fair point I suppose), The Falklands, and slimmer of the year 1981, Bobby Sands. It seems that the SWP are upping the ante! Time will tell.

Last Journey

Finally, Today will go down in history as the day we buried one of our greatest ever politicians. I am proud to have served as a soldier during her terms in office, and I am proud to have been there today to see her get the send off she deserved. R.I. P. Baroness Thatcher.

More photos on www.mitchell-images.com

2013-04-15T05:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since there has been anything to post about on here. There have been the regular protests by the mentally unstable members of UK Uncut, but to be honest, they are boring and the papers are not interested in them any more. "We are the 99%" they chant - Really? Sorry, no, you are not. Likewise there have been protests by the usual groups of assorted foreign nations who live here, but hate us, blaming us for all that is wrong in their own country. Photos of them don't sell either, and to be honest, watching them is not very good for my blood pressure.

The sad death of Baroness Thatcher was always going to bring the nutters out. I'll put my cards on the table right away. I did not agree with everything MT did. However, she is exactly what the country needs right now. A PM who has backbone, a PM who has the best interests of the UK at heart. Not some lily livered, pie faced, rich boy like the one we have now. She defeated the IRA, she defeated the Argies and destroyed the stranglehold the left wing unions had on the country. Sadly, it will be a long time before we see anyone with her qualities in Govt again!

On to the 'Death Party' then. It was hammering down in London and when I arrived at Trafalgar Square it was empty. There were cops and a lot of private security, but no protesters. I met up with a pal of mine who was standing next to some punks/anarchists, and one or two guys who were wee bit too well dressed to be part of the protest group!!! They all seemed to be getting on, so it seemed ok. There were a few cops watching them. This was under the arched canopy outside Waterstones bookshop just off Trafalgar Square for those who know the area. They were a group of appx 25, all drinking and most seemed pissed up.

Scene of the bottle attack

Just as I was considering going home, one of the protesters came scurrying up to some cops who were standing nearby "They are arguing along there" she said, as though the police were supposed to wade in and put the put those involved on the naughty step. I had a look, and just as I got there, one weasly looking kid had blood running from a cut around his eye, and was involved in a shouting match with another. Suddenly, 'crash', the one who was already bleeding was smashed over the head with a bottle, which actually broke with the force of the swing. The cops were on them in a flash and nicked a few. On seeing the blood, the rest of the rough, tough anarchists decided they had no stomach for violence and headed away.

It was still pissing down but a crowd was beginning to gather in the square. As reported in the MSM most of them were far too young to have been alive when MT was in office. There were quite a few IRA supporters there with placards about the hunger strikers and the army. Clearly being beaten by Maggie still upsets them - well the ones who are still alive anyway. There was a manky looking thing with an Argentinian flag - you can always count on the left to support lost causes! All in all, the crowd were just what I expected - a collection of the 'best' the far left could put on the streets - a pathetic mix of poor little rich kids, slumming it on a day away from mummy and daddy, the dirty unwashed squat dwellers who exist on methadone prescriptions and out of date food, lifted from supermarket skips, along with a large proportion of London's rough sleepers, who were drawn to the event like moths to a flame, dribbling at the prospect of rich kids with free flowing alcohol. The best estimate I have seen is that at it's peak there were at most 1700 present. When you consider that high profile events attended by normal people such as the Jubilee or Royal Wedding attract crowds that number in the hundreds of thousands, it is clear just how little support for left wing causes there is. Nowdays, being left wing seems to be a lifestyle choice for the offspring of those who made their money when MT was running the country. The 'Blac Bloc' is a prime example of this. It is made up of a gaggle of kids who relish the chance to wear face coverings. It must come as a respite from people staring at the raging acne which covers their youthful faces.

Police close St Martins Lane

As darkness fell it was still raining and most of the bemused tourists who had made up a large portion of the crowd, had gone away. By now the gathering had thinned to around 600. There were around 300 in front of the National Gallery and the remainder were down on Trafalgar Square. As expected, this was when the violence started. The crowd in front of the National Gallery were intent on having a party and I saw no violence from them. The crowd in the Square however, used the cover of darkness to start throwing bottles at the police lines. As the police line closed in, I saw one cop punched in the face. There was no arrest at the time for this. Still the occasional bottle flew at the cops. Unusually, the police had no protective gear with them. No helmets or shields. Despite being the targets for violence, they never even had their batons drawn! I asked a sergeant why this was and he replied with a wry smile that it was not his decision. Who would be a cop in London when your bosses make decisions like that?

I stayed until 10:30pm. It was still raining. The scare-mongering that 100's of Millwall fans were going to arrive and attack the lefties proved to be just that - a load of bollocks, although to be fair, one or two did turn up, but were quickly moved on by the police.

Several protesters I spoke to put the poor turnout down to people staying away in order to avoid arrest before the funeral on Wednesday. It has to be said that a lot of the usual suspects at these events were missing - whether they were saving themselves for the funeral, or, have just grown up and taken their fathers offer of a job in the City, remains to be seen. If there is trouble during the funeral, I hope those who sit in luxury offices in New Scotland Yard allow the cops who do the real work, to do their job and make arrests - not stand back in the hope there is enough CCTV evidence to make arrests at a later date. The public want to see these people arrested at the time - not listen to some spin from some office dwelling senior ranks after the event. If the police are not seen to deal with these protesters, while I don't condone it, it would be difficult to blame pro MT supporters for taking the law into their own hands. The world's media will once again be watching, let the police do their jobs. Don't make the country a laughing stock again.

The only certainty regarding MT's death is that the vile abuse directed at what is after all, the death of an old lady, a mother, and grandmother has only marginalised the looney left even more.

More photographs on www.mitchell-images.com

OT, I am still looking for a ghost writer for my book on Portugal. If you know anyone who may be interested, please pass on my details.

'STAND BACK' I'm a legal observer

2012-11-29T04:45:00.001-08:00

This time last year the Congolese living in the UK staged a number of protests in London. They are convinced the the UK are behind just about all things that are wrong with life in the Congo. Last year we were told we were responsible for the rigging of elections in the DRC. The main reason for this election fraud was to enable the UK to continue to plunder the natural resources that are so plentiful in the DRC. Targets for their fury last year included the Apple store in Oxford St, Downing St and the police and press.

During the protests they caused chaos in London. They closed Whitehall several times by sitting in the road and starting fires. They fought with police, caused Oxford Circus tube station to be closed for hours during the evening rush hour, by fighting amongst themselves and generally behaved like savages.

Well, they are at it again. This time the reason for their protests is their belief that the UK are supplying weapons and munitions to the Rwandans who are engaged in fighting in the DRC.

Last year they turned out in big numbers for the protests. This time around they only managed to field appx 100. Apparently after the trouble last year, the church which most of them belong to advised that the protests stop. Clearly most of them heeded this advice.

The plan for yesterday was to march from their own embassy in Gt Portland St, to the Rwandan Embassy, and then on to Downing St. Even before they had left Gt Portland St things were going tits up. At one point they had two cops cut off from the rest of those on duty, surrounded by an angry mob. They turned on a photographer, threatening him. Once the cops calmed things down, the march moved off. The thing about the Congolese is they don't talk - they shout. They shout, get in your face, and wave their arms about. They try very hard to intimidate anyone who poses a problem for them.

The journey to the Rwandan Embassy was uneventful. However, once they got there, things changed. The Rwandan Embassy is housed in a five story building situated in a residential area, just off the Edgware Rd. There were around 12 cops on duty outside the building.

The crowd, many with their faces covered, were put in a pen opposite the embassy building. Soon they were throwing eggs at the windows. Then the eggs were replaced by batteries. Luckily their aim was rubbish and the windows remained intact. The crowd by now were whipped up into a frenzy. As some of them tried to leave the pen and reach the embassy, the cops had to push them back. This led to a few scuffles. They managed to get a cops long baton during the struggles and this was thrown at the cops.

There looked to be a chance that things were about to get out of control as there didn't seem to be enough police to keep the crowd contained in the pen. The cops never backed down an inch. One of the police really stuck out. She was about 5,4" blonde, and a good looking bird. At one point she was surrounded by around 6/7 of the protesters. Fair play to her, out came her baton and she beat them away. Some of these were big guys as well.

Not long after, the TSG arrived. The Congolese know who they are and it's fair to say they don't like them! Their arrival was greeted with loud boo's and jeering. However, within minutes the crowd had gone from noisy and threatening to meek and mild. A few of the protesters tried their luck by pushing some of the TSG and shouting at them. They soon realised there was no milage in this and went back to shouting at the building opposite.

Most protest groups realise that they need press coverage to get their message across. Not the Congolese. They hate us. "DOAN YA TAK MA PEECHA, A SMASHA YA KAMRA". We got it all. At one point an inspector from the TSG came over to me and a colleague and warned us that the mob were very angry at us for photographing them. He explained he was telling us as he had a duty of care towards us. I get mightily pissed off when this happens. This is a free country and to be issued with what amounts to threats, via the police, that a bunch of protesters who are behaving like savages, don't want me to do my job as they don't like it, send my blood pressure soaring! Not long after the warning from the TSG, a girl wearing a hi-viz vest came marching up to us. Notebook and pen poised she demanded "Who do you work for"?"Why" I asked. "I want to know" came her reply. She was a 'Legal Observer' I told her to fuck off. I hate these troublemaking legal wannabes. She accused me of being violent for telling her to fuck off. Clearly that sort of language is only suitable in her world, when aimed at the police! Who do they think they are?

I could feel the red mist starting to descend and made the decision to leave the protest. I know it comes with the territory but, there are times when you just have to step away for your own sanity.

I went to a job at Downing St and the Congolese arrived in Whitehall around 5.30. They were shepherded into the protest pens. They climbed all over the statues of various military leaders, all under the watchful eye of the cops. This should not have been allowed. The police should have got them off the statues. There were plenty of cops, including TSG. There protesters were still less than 100. With protests, there must come a time when the balance between the police standing back to avoid creating a confrontation, and upholding the law, tips in favour of upholding the law. For Christ's sake, they weren't even asked to get down from the statues!

Some photographs from the event are here - http://mitchell-images.photoshelter.com

2012-11-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

It's been quite some time since the students protested in London. The rise in tuition fees has happened and there will be no going back on that. It was not clear what this protest was about, apart from whinging about how hard they have it.

Regional media outlets around the country have recently carried stories claiming that most students were put off from attending due to the fact that they expected the march to turn violent.

The pre-demo estimate of 50,00 marchers was as most expected, way off the mark. I would put the number who attended closer to 5,000 maximum. There had been plenty of wailing and gnashing of adolescent teeth regarding the choice of route for the march. Rather than the main march heading along The Strand and down Whitehall as in the past, this time the route took them along the Embankment, over Westminster Bridge and into Sarf Landan to have a meeting in a council park, next to the kids playground. Perhaps playing on the swings and roundabout would keep them out of mischief. Clearly this was designed to avoid any repeat of a few years when they trashed Westminster. Even so, the cops took no chances and reinforced barriers were sited at strategic venues.

Not all marchers played ball with the cops regarding the route. The usual suspects decided that they would have a feeder march from ULU at Mallet St, and they would head for Westminster. I decided that I would accompany them on their attempt to reach Westminster.

I found the march in Holborn. There were perhaps 300 of them. The cops were taking no chances and there was an escort surrounding them, as well as plenty of reinforcements along the route. As usual with the students, it was a game of give and take with the cops. The cops let them keep their silly masks and face-coverings on, while the bulk of the feeder march respected the route and behaved themselves.

As the feeder march reached Surrey St, which would filter them down to the Embankment, and on to the back of the main march, half dozen or so marchers in masks tried to break through the police line and head towards The Strand. This really was a comedy moment. The few who tried to break the lines were simply pushed back into the march. They tried again, this time urging their fellow marchers to join them. Again they wee simply pushed back into the crowd. Their fellow marchers seemed to ignore them and carried on past. When I stopped laughing I saw a posh boy, his puny fists all balled up, crying in sheer indignation, his tears streaming down his face into the black, handwoven alpaca scarf which covered the part of his lower face where his chin would have been. No doubt he will get his fag to deal with those who refused to help him.

So with the feeder march containing any potential troublemakers neatly tacked on to the back of the legitimate march, the cops knew where to focus their resources. Clearly non of the leaders of the feeder march have much knowledge of tactics.

As the march made it's way along the Embankment, the same group again tried to break away, again they urged their fellow marchers to join them, and again they were easily pushed back into the crowd and ignored. This was fun. I love seeing the smug, self-righteous tossers getting upset.

Before long, the back of the march was approaching Westminster Bridge. Now, two things could happen here, They could follow the march over the bridge, and go and play on the swings in the park, or, they could as they had promised, take their protest to Parliament. The cops were four ranks thick in the parliament side of the bridge. No way was anyone getting through that lot. The posh kids sat in road for a bit, arguing amongst themselves, while the sky turned a strange colour of puce and it pissed down. I had to chuckle at them as I sipped my nice warm coffee from my sheltered viewpoint. Posh kids don't like rain. It's something mater and pater cant control.

From what I saw of the main march it went well. The only potential for trouble came from the small group in the feeder march, and they were quickly dealt with.

The only good thing to come from the protest march was that it showed once and for all that the troublemakers in the student movement are a tiny minority who the majority now ignore and treat with the contempt they deserve.

Some shots from the march are on my new website here - http://mitchell-images.photoshelter.com

Your not the 99%, you're an arse

2012-10-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is the time of the year when all the Left Wing protest groups in the UK start to hatch their cunning plans for 'Bringing down the govt', and installing God knows who, or what for that matter, as leader of the republic of the UK. Yup, in squats and hovels ( when I say squats and hovels, I really mean bedrooms at home ) all over the country, plans had been hatched. In between sporadic bouts of homework, discussions had taken place regarding daring deeds on Sat 20th Oct.

Last year, the mentalists of the far left managed to hijack the TUC demonstration in London, and if truth be told, caused a fair old bit of damage, injury and general inconvenience to London and its inhabitants. Would this year be any different?

Before dealing with Sat 20th, I will go back to Sat14th as it involves the same groups. This was some sort of anniversary for those halfwits who pitched their tents outside St Pauls Cathedral last year. No one can forget the filth and and squaller they created and lived in. Crapping in the pews of the Cathedral, urinating in public, as horrified tourists looked on - I could go on. For this anniversary, they had arranged a 'Global Day of Noise'. The plan was , funnily enough, was for hundreds of them to bang some pots and pans together, ( Can you imagine the headlines? - Cameron steps down due to people banging pots and pans. Numbskulls !), before storming off to an undisclosed location to 'occupy' somewhere, - Poland perhaps? In the end, a few dozen walked about a bit, followed by a token police escort, before going home for tea and medals (made from recycled bankers Bentleys no doubt). A complete lack of leadership on their part, coupled with the work carried out by the police intelligence teams ensured the day was a disaster. Would Oct 20th be any different?

There was always going to be a massive turn out for the TUC march on the 20th. The whole country is sick of the behaviour of our elected politicians, and the mess they are making of running the country. As usual, the social networks were alive with the plans of the anarchists and the usual suspects.

Cameron knows!

I headed down to Whitehall from Covent Garden and the first thing that struck me was the absence of any barriers around Trafalgar Square. Last year there was a ring of metal barriers erected to keep the protest on route. This year there was a heavy police presence but not over the top. I made my way down Whitehall. This is where things changed. There was a line of cops that stretched from the Cabinet Office, all the way down the the far end of the Treasury Building, with the gates to Downing St especially well guarded. In addition to this, the pavement in front of these buildings was closed off with barriers. I have never seen a level of security like that around Govt buildings for years. Clearly, Cameron and his cronies are well aware of the level of discontent in the country at the moment!

Like last year, the TUC march went well. I saw no trouble, no arrests. The marchers were colourful and noisy. There were families, groups of disabled people, in fact there was a real cross section of normal society. Everyone, irrespective of political leanings were united in the same mindset - that the current system of govt is not working. The main comments that came from speaking to the marchers were about the 'Them and us' situation that has become clear thanks to Andrew Mitchell and George Osborne, and the fresh expenses scandal that is bubbling away just under the surface. The coalition has succeeded in alienating just about all walks of life, save for the mega rich.

The various wee groups who laughingly call themselves anarchists had proudly stated they were going to shut down the workfare scheme. From past experience this normally involves running around the west end being chased by cops. This was no exception. At the advertised time of 2.30, a few dishevelled youths arrived at Oxford Circus and sat in the middle of the road. Before long their numbers had swelled to around 400, most of whom were wearing hoods or face coverings. They walked down Oxford St and then headed into the side streets. It was the same old plan. They tried, sometimes successfully to get into shops. The cops chased them around. Some got arrested. But there was no 'designed for maximum publicity' stunt like last year when they destroyed the front of the Ritz Hotel or sat about for a while in Fortnum and Masons.

What was different this year then? The country is in a worse state now than it was then. The govt have been exposed for being the 'posh boys looking down their noses at the rest of us' that they have long been suspected of.

It's simple really. Last year some got nicked. Some thought that they could hit cops and throw things at them, only to be shocked to the core when the cops fought back. They thought they could smash up other peoples property and cried when they got arrested. These are not the feral kids from inner city estates we are talking about here. These are intelligent kids who have for the most part had the benefit of a good education and privileged upbringing. Even the most 'right on' parents get a tad scratchy when young Jocasta or Tarquin gets jailed.

Their leaders have gone as well. In the past groups such as 'The Love Police' led by the nutter that is Charlie Vietch have been a rallying point for those who were prepared to get nicked for what they believed in. For Gods sake, even Jody McIntyre has turned his attentions away from the UK. He now whinges about life in Venezuela - don't ask cos I don't know!

These kids are funny to watch. Its clearly a fashion thing. It is still trendy to be lefty. Take away the face coverings, and most are not even man enough to have reason to shave. As for the rhetoric - the common chant of "we are the 99%". Can they really believe this? Are they so arrogant that they think they speak for everyone? My take on who the 99% are is this - The 99% are the millions of normal people who during the last year, turned out to watch the Jubilee celebrations, went to the Olympics, people, who up and down the length of the country, go to work, school, college, and those who are unemployed or unable to work. Yes, we moan about the govt and it's crap policies, and, if there was a way to change things in the short term, we would. What we don't do is indulge in infantile, self-indulgent behaviour, damaging other peoples businesses, and interfering with other peoples right to work, whether its on a govt scheme or not.

These kids cant seem to understand why no-one respects what they do. They cant accept that some people are actually happy to have a workfare scheme, as it gets them out the house and gives them a bit of self worth. I have more respect for an alcoholic who is down on his luck and sleeping rough than I do for these hobbyist protesters. Most alcoholics are victims of circumstances and addiction. These so called anarchists act as though they are hard done by. Nothing could be further from the truth. One look at the expensive mobiles, clothing, laptops etc tells you everything you need to know. What right does some gang of spoiled, spotty, kids have to interfere with other peoples lives? Try to engage with them and when the argument goes against them, they behave like the petulant kids they are.

Finally, their wander around the West End did have it's casualties. A woman who was leaving Starbucks with a medium latte takeaway, was treated for burns by the police after the mob who were rushing in to 'occupy' the shop bumped into her spilling her boiling drink all over her. Kids were terrified. A day out in London with mum and dad will never hold the same thrill after seeing grown ups running amok. Tourists will think twice before coming back.

I wish they would grow up. Some of last years protesters are doing really well working in the city. Still, it's like a rite of passage eh Tarquin?

More photos are here - http://mitchell-images.photoshelter.com

Bash a burglar? - welcome to the grey area

2012-10-09T07:04:00.001-07:00

So, it seems that we are now being told that we are in a position where if some poor misguided promising footballer/musician or socially deprived substance abuser, etc, burgles our house, and we protect ourselves, we might not be prosecuted. Like I need permission ! I am I a hard case ? No, Do sleep with a baseball bat under the bed? No. If it ever happened, I could end up getting a kicking. But, like everyone else, I would do what it takes to protect my family. That's just normal, isn't it?

Of course we all know the real reason the great and good are giving us a wee bit more leeway when it comes to the grey area between what amounts to reasonable force, because that's what it will boil down to, the same as it always has, whether the amount of force used was reasonable. The real reason is this - they are crippling our justice system, cutting the police numbers, leaving those who are still serving working in an atmosphere where moral is at rock bottom, populating the benches of our court systems with people who are not fit to judge a village flower show, let alone dish out punishments where they are needed.

This is nothing more than a cynical ploy to deflect public attention from the ever growing problems in the justice system. What next, will they be issuing handcuffs and pepper spray along with our supply of environmentally friendly bin bags?

Of course, what if the scum who break into houses decide that they are going to have to be prepared to defend themselves from the nasty homeowner. Will the burglars now start carrying more dangerous weapons? Yes, they will.

Of course, the people have decided this, don't have to worry about burglars do they? They are protected by armed plebs! (sorry cops)

Abu Hamza and the one way ticket

2012-10-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Abu Hamza and the other terror suspects seemed certain to fail in their last attempt to avoid extradition to the states. Like all other normal thinking UK citizens, I had looked on in utter disbelief as time after time, this evil old terrorist had wriggled and squirmed his way from appeal to appeal in an attempt to avoid the one way flight to the good ol 'US of A' This last appeal was based on the claim that he was ill and needed medical treatment.

I had a personal interest in this case. Having been the subject of an extradition attempt by Portugal, for a murder I didn't commit, while the 'victim' is still alive, and, having already been cleared of 18 years ago, I remember asking my brief about the appeal process, should the Magistrates Court agree to the extradition request. I too could have appealed to the ECoHR and ended up with a lengthy appeal process. There but for the grace of God go I? No, I was innocent. Just as the courts found Hamza guilty, 18 years ago the courts found me not guilty. The Portuguese withdrew their extradition request in the end and I was left to try and get on with life. Even now as I write this post, I wonder if my appeal would have taken as long as these terror suspects has taken.

2nd class citizens or women?

I was late arriving at the RCoJ. I was not surprised to find only 100 or so protesters present. They were split into two camps. Those led by Anjem Choudary supported Hamza, while the other camp supported Baba Ahmed. Choudary's mob were the usual faces. Those claiming to be female - impossible to tell as they all wore full length coverings, were as usual separated from the men like second class citizens. Lets be honest here, I'm 23 stone, bald, and if my kids are be believed, none too pretty, but if I were to put on some eye make-up and a full length burkha with only my eyes showing, I could pass for one of them. The fact that these burkha wearing folk wear eye make up, just like a western girl, kind of makes a mockery of their 'strict adherence to the Koran'.

Those who supported Baba Ahmed were a mixed bunch of white and Asian protesters. They were more approachable and the sexes were mixing freely. They were protesting about Baba Ahmed, while all Choudary's mob were doing was shouting about how much they hate the west!

In a break from whoring himself to the nasty western mainstream media, I managed to speak to Choudary and asked how he expected things to go. He maintained that Hamza had little chance. He apportioned a large part of the blame for Hamza's plight on the supporters of Baba Ahmed, claiming that the Baba Ahmed camp included members of the Muslim Council of Great Britain and other Muslim groups, who, from the beginning had supported the extradition of Hamza. I tried to get him to expand on this, but bizarrely, like some overgrown playground bully, he was more interested in gloating about the EDL not turning up for a promised counter protest. He laughed at the EDL's failure to turn up for the past two of his protests, claiming they were running scared of his group.

Scared of Choudary or not, the EDL are a spent force. Any lingering public support they had disappeared after their latest demo in Walsall where they attacked the police.

confused.com

Like most people I know, I would like to see terrorists punished for their crimes in the same manner they would be in their homeland - stoned to death, or perhaps decapitated with a rusty knife. Perhaps the deed could be carried out by the winner of an 'Execute a Terrorist Lottery' run by the CIA. "And tonight's bonus ball is 14, the lucky winner gets to travel to Afghanistan and execute the latest captured Taliban terrorist" However, we will have to make do with long prison sentences. As I have just said, I don't think prison is the answer for them, but, in a civilised society such as ours, while it might not sit well with most, it's what separates us from the savages.

As someone who has covered most extremist Muslim protests in the past six years, it is clear to me that the extremist element of Muslim society is tiny. It is minuscule. Are they dangerous? yes. Are they distasteful and ignorant? yes. But, they number at most, in the low hundreds. They are being dealt with, by their own society as well as the security services. Mainstream Muslim society are sick to death of extremists. They are ashamed. They have my sympathy!

As for Choudary, he is clearly flouting the ruling made by the Home Secretary regarding him and his mob continuing the activities of his previously banned groups, under a new name. One of the charges which has led to several of these terrorists being deported is that of 'Promoting acts of terrorism by calling for violent jihad'. Choudary and his mob do this at every demo they organise. Indeed during the minutes silence on the anniversary of 9/11 they spent the minute chanting for jihad. No-one was arrested for that. While he may think he is being clever, some of the Baba Ahmed camp at the RCoJ voiced their suspicions that Choudary is a mole for the security services. This is not the first time this has been suggested. During the protest at the RCoJ there was a single white pro extradition protester. He carried a placard which stated "if you want Hamza gone beep your horn". He may or may not have been a member of the EDL. Some thought he was others thought not. His placard was grabbed by one of Choudary's mob. This led to a scuffle which saw one of Choudary's people grab a cop by the throat. The fact that they were not nicked just fuels the fire of thought regarding him being a mole. It has to be said that if it were a member of the EDL who assaulted the cop, his feet would not have touched the ground. Incidentally, most of the time there was a cacophony of noise as passing drivers blew their horns!

The families of some of the terrorists

Choudary and his few fellow extremists didn't even stay to hear the verdict. They were gone long before it came out. Before they left, Chowdary was asked if he any plans for a 'poppy protest' this year. It was announced that they have. As usual, it wont be on Remembrance Sunday when any attempt to protest and burn poppies by them would lead to members of the public taking the law into their own hands and beating them senseless, it will probably be on the Friday afternoon before Remembrance Sunday. It will be hidden away from any chance of large scale protests against them by the public, somewhere where only the press and the EDL will turn up. A large scale police operation will ensure these vile, extremists get to abuse the right of free speech, so bravely fought for by the very men and women whose memories they seek to tarnish.

As 2.30pm approached, and anticipating a promised statement after the verdict, the media started setting up at the gates to the court. I was in the front row. Reporters were tweeting from inside the court, and soon the news came that the appeals were lost. Personally I was pleased, but these cases have had so many appeals I half expected Hamza to collapse in prison in order to avoid the flight. Thankfully, the extraditions went ahead. The terrorists are no longer a drain on our taxes. Will they get tortured in the States - who knows, and lets be honest, apart from the usual left wing hand wringers, who cares.

More photographs of the event can be found here - http://mitchell-images.500px.com/abu_hamza_appeal/

The Innocence of Muslims

2012-09-15T08:24:00.001-07:00

Police and protesters

I had been watching the developing backlash against this movie gaining momentum in the Middle East, and suspected it was only a matter of time before it materalised in the UK in one form or another. The target was always going to be the American Embassy. The only question was whether any protest was going to involve thousands of Muslims like the turnout for the anti Operation Cast Lead demos of four years ago, or whether it would be a handful of the usual suspects.

It became clear that while all Muslims seemed to be upset about the movie, abroad, it was being used as a vehicle for those in positions of authority to get bodies on the street to cause mayhem. I doubted that London based Muslims would emulate their Middle Eastern brothers, and take to the streets in their thousands to attack the American Embassy. I've said before that the vast majority of Muslims in London are just normal folk who get on with their lives like anyone else. I can't pretend to understand their beliefs, but as long as they don't step outside the law, I can live with that. They probably can't understand mine either.

The march nears the USA Embassy

Scanning the social media sites, and speaking to people on the streets, it seemed on the face of it, that if there was to be a demo, it was going to be a small affair, led by Evil Anjem. Yes, the man who has led more failed organisations than Tony Blair, was at it again. His site had mentioned the name of the new organisation but it has now gone, clearly an attempt to avoid adding another banned group to his list. Credit must go to the Imams of London Mosques who spoke against this protest.

His site called for all Muslims, individuals and groups to attend the demo. There was mention elsewhere of Hitz Ut Tahrir attending, but apart from that, support seemed non existent.

The scene at the embassy was all too familiar. Police vans parked up, cops on the ground and the police helicopter overhead. As always there was a big press presence, including a couple of MSM outside broadcast units.

Evil Anjem and his band of nutters

Off in the distance flashing blue lights were coming into view. I walked towards the lights and reached the march. There were perhaps 100 at most. As usual, the women were treated as second class citizens and made to walk behind the men. So much for Choudary's call out to all Muslims! A quick scan of the faces and it was soon clear that this was the same group of hateful scum who have masqueraded under many different names in the past. I'm sure when The Home Secretary banned the last manifestation, (Muslims against the crusades), she included a clause that if police had reasonable suspicion that members of the same group were acting together in a manner which had led to the proscription of the first group, they would be liable to arrest. The police FIT teams are always present at these demos so the cops would have been aware that this group were nothing more than Muslims Against the Crusades without the name tags. Why weren't they nicked? Well, if they had been, Choudary would have been elevated to martyr status and this would have led to more protests. I reckon he was hoping to be nicked. I hope that when the publicity over the movie dies down, he will get a knock on the door, by big men wearing body armour, and men with big scary dogs.

They did their best to get nicked, issuing death threats to everyone not Muslim, calls for world - wide jihad, blah blah, blah. All very frustrating for any normal person. Watching Choudary being interviewed by Press TV was funny. He is like a baddie in a James Bond film. It is impossible to take him seriously. He speaks as though he is some self appointed king of all Muslims. In reality he stands there with what looks like food stains down the front of his jacket, surrounded by the handful of nutters he has managed to subvert over the years, babbling nonsense that is so hard to follow I gave up years ago. He really does live in his own personal cloud cukoo-land. He is even a laughing stock to other Muslims. During the protest a group of four street 'yoots' walked past Stopping briefly, they asked what all the fuss was. I told them it was Anjem Choudary and they laughed and said 'Oh man, da geezers a pwoppa nuttta'. One of them said that Choudary had been banned from their Mosque years ago. Another said "Bruv e ain't even a pwoppa Muslim". What is it they say - out of the mouths of babes?

The protest itself was loud, there was not one banner or placard to do with the movie, strange when you consider that what Choudary said the protest was about! They dispersed after an hour or so and went back to wherever they come from. As they were leaving the cops pulled one youth aside to have a word with him. Within seconds the cops were faced with a group calling them racists, saying they were being treated like terrorists, etc. The atmosphere was tense for a few moments then the group drifted away to join their pals.

Anti-extremist protesters

There was a small presence from the EDL who tried to shout down Evil Anjem and his band of disciples, but they were quickly led away by the cops. Hitz Ut Tahrir did not attend.

The end result of the protest was that no one, not the American tourists who walked past, not the American diplomats in the embassy, nor any other passers by, paid them the slightest bit of attention, save to look on in amusement. He was laughed at. He was ridiculed. He is a clown and yesterday he was treated like one. Time to hang up your megaphone Anjem, either that or bugger off to somewhere where you are welcome!

Put down the pen and step away from the country Ms May

2012-08-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

Why has the anger over the G4s fiasco gone away? Has it just died a natural death they way of all British scandals? There was national outrage when it emerged that the company charged with providing security for the Olympic Games could not deliver on the multi million pound contract they had been awarded.

So, why were a company who did not have the manpower at the time the contract was awarded, given the contract in the first place? Well, Dr John Reid joined the company as a group consultant in 2008. I understand he is now on the board of the company. Lord Reid, a diehard Glasgow Celtic fan who even back in 2008 had strong links to the club, made one of his first tasks for G4s the acquisition of Rocksteady Security - a firm who at the time supplied security to among other things, Scottish football clubs. Just one of the acquisitions that I would like to examine closely. I wonder how much the deal was worth? His govt career involved a starring role in the NI peace process, spending many hours in the company of the IRA high heid yins. I would love to have been a fly on the wall of those meetings! Lord Reid is allegedly well known for his Irish Republican sympathies. Allegedly there were several video clips of him at Celtic fans functions singing IRA songs which glorified the murdering of security forces personnel, and the late Lord Mountbatten. Of course, these vanished He is credited by non other than George ' I'm a pussy' Galloway for teaching a generation of labour activists the contents of the IRA songbook. He was responsible for ordering the demolition of security forces bases and the supposedly 'phased' withdrawal of troops. He has served as chairman of Glasgow Celtic, a club who have a reputation for sections of their support glorifying Irish republican terrorism along with a quite unexplainable level of support for Palestinian militias such as Hamas. This is not a dig at Celtic fans, most Celtic fans I know are thoroughly embarrassed by this connection to terrorism. However, it cant be denied that the West of Scotland in particular has long been home to a good number of wannabe terrorists, most of whom have no ties with Ireland, north or south. They are simply keen to jump on the apparently trendy bandwagon of supporting left wing causes. It's a bit like the students protesters who wore Arab style headress around their pencil necks. I blame the schools. This is were Dr Reid grew up. Some readers will already know this but for those who don't - I am a massive Rangers fan. Like most Rangers fans, I have friends who are Celtic fans. I have friends who are catholic. I served in the army with friends who were both. This is not about football or religion, its about politics, not just left wing politics either. Despite his, at times, high level govt positions ( remember, it was under the stewardship of Tony B lair), he comes across as a thoroughly untrustworthy individual.

Given that New Labour are a thing of the past, why did the current govt award the contract to G4s? The whole thing stinks of the 'old boys network'. His involvement proves the theory that party politics come a poor second to the massive greed for cold hard cash. Well, old boys network or not, the security contract went tits up. Troops and police are being used to provide the security at the games. The Home Sec allegedly knew of the manpower shortfall yet did nothing.

The Argylls - covering the govts arse since 1881

Some of the troops searching spectators bags at Olympic events were until the call to save the govt arses came, part of an airborne quick reaction force, properly trained and ready to deploy anywhere in the world when they were needed. Around 700 of those guarding the games had a few weeks earlier received the news that their Regt was no longer needed and many of them were being made redundant. Not satisfied with that, the Olympic job meant that their summer leave was cancelled. These are the same men who have put their life on the line many times in defence of our country. This is the thanks they got.

As for the cops, well, they too are being caned by the current govt. Like the armed forces, they too have had their summer leave cancelled. Pensions cut, manpower cut to the point where they are forced to cover huge areas, often single crewed in cars or vans dealing with societies often violent dregs, at great personal danger. Along with this, they are also expected to deal with everyday policing tasks - you know, things like telling a relative that a loved one has been killed in a car accident. That kind of thing! They work in a climate of fear, where failure to meet bizarre targets for dealing with increasingly management driven arrest figures, have resulted in plumeting moral. Like them or loath them, everyone needs cops. Everyone needs cops that are not afraid to do their job for fear of internal disciplinary actions, public humiliation, or worse, criminal proceedings. They also need job security, like anyone else!

Having leave cancelled seems like a mere inconvenience when we see or hear it in the media. What we have to remember is that in the case of the forces and to an extent in the police as well, annual leave is precious family time. Often families have been without the man of the house, due to him being serving away from home for 9 months out of 12. Children have been born, fathers have not been able to form relationships with newborns, schools have changed/started, all the normal points of family life that we civvies take for granted, and our seviceman00

What would happen if this happened again?

So we have police from many forces around the country and the armed forces providing security for the Olympics. The thing is, these are finite resources. Never has this been clearer. Last weekend saw the 1st anniversary of the worst public disorder the UK had seen in a generation. What went completely unmentioned by the MSM is the fact that on Sunday, a crowd estimated to be in the region of 8000 descended on the streets of Brixton to celebrate Jamaican Independence day. There were stabbings, reports of gunshots and gang fighting. Police reinforcements were called in, as at one point it was feared the violence of last year in Brixton was about to be repeated. Thankfully it wasn't. This was due in no small part to the Afro Caribbean community who turned on the gangs at one point, telling them exactly what they thought of the damage they were doing to their culture. In reality if the 8000 crowd had decided to riot again, they could have.

What should be the final nail in the coffin of Theresa May is the initial police response to the case of the missing New Addington girl, Tia Sharp. After being missing for five days, this afternoon Commander Neil Basu admitted during a press conference that he had recalled 100 men from Olympic duties to boost the manpower on the case. Those 100 officers should have been there from the start. They would have been were it not for the G4s cock up. This is a kid who has been missing for 5 days we are talking about. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to know that resources are needed at the start of a job like this.

To sum up, Theresa May left the country in a position where we could not cope. Take the worst case scenario - a terror threat at an Olympic venue, rioting in the streets of Brixton and Tottenham, and an urgent overseas deployment for the armed forces. All of them distinct possibilities. What contingencies are in place? The TA? Give me strength. She should step down and there should be a completely transparent public enquiry into the dealings between G4s, the govt, and Dr (Death) Reid. So far we have had G4s boss Nick (I won't) Buckle up before a Home Affairs Select Committee. Lets be honest, Mr Buckle has fall guy written all over him. I'll bet he wears clown shoes, big fuck off red and yellow clown shoes!

Weddings, African protests and Bar-Mitzvahs

2012-07-02T02:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (Sat 1st) was my first day back covering protests since the Portuguese lies were once again levelled against me. Photographing weddings is ok and very good for the bank balance but lacks the adrenalin rush of some protests. I had decided that I couldn't hide away for ever and it was time to get back in the saddle. It was the anniversary of Congolese independence and a march was planned from the embassy in Little Portland St down to Downing St.

The Congolese have form when it comes to violent protests so I expected a busy day with some good shots. It was not to be. As the march departure time approached I counted a total of 26 protesters. There was a big police presence - rightly so, as Ive already said they have form for being violent. The 26 protesters were treated to the normal police escort and rolling road block down Regent St, Haymarket, Pall Mall and Whitehall, all of which had one lane closed to traffic to facilitate them. The Apple Store on Regent St ( a target for violence on previous marches) was guarded by a line of cops. Shoppers looked on wondering why such a small group had so many police in attendance. Without a hint of exageration I can confirm that there were more police than protesters.

The group arrived at Downing St and were led in the protest pen at Richmond Terrace.

The police operation must have cost a fortune. The police can't be blamed for having a large operation in place, no doubt the organisers of the march told the cops there would be thousands attending. I think the time has come when organisers of such events should be required to contribute towards the cost of policing. Perhaps by way of a deposit which is non-returnable if the march falls flat on its arse, or there are public order issues.

When the congolese arrived in Whitehall there was already a fairly large contingent of Sudanese protesters there. After an hour or so the Sudanese decided to leave the protest pen and march to their embassy opposite the back of St James' Palace. Arriving at the embassy, there was a strong smell of burning in the air. On the doorstep of the embassy was the remains of a large rubbish bag which had been set alight, seemingly just before the arrival of the march. The area was cordoned off presumably awaiting the arrival of the forensics team.

Doorway of Sudanese Embassy

The protest continued for an hour and a bit, before they began to drift away. There was no trouble, nor any signs of it brewing. Thing is, how can someone be allowed to set a fire just spitting distance from a royal residence? The area is well covered by CCTV so hopefully they will be caught.

On the way from Whitehall to the embassy I noticed some heavy duty lighting kit and some stage equipment being taken into one of the big buildings on Pall Mall. One of my friends had been photographing the filming of the next series of Downton Abbey which was being shot in several secret locations on London. The building was similar to those already being used in the filming so I decided to plot up at the junction across from it and see what was going on.

There was lots of coming and going but no-one from the cast. Still I waited, standing on a street corner in Pall Mall like some bald, overweight rent boy. I toyed with idea of approaching the doorman who by now had noticed me and must have wondered what I was up to. He looked none too happy to see me so I decided against it.

My mate who had been shooting the filming all day rang to say he was on his way down. Several mercedes people carriers with blacked out windows (vehicle of choice for film set transportation) began to arrive and disgorge some very well dressed people. Although non of them were in period costume there was clearly something going on. The plot thickens!

Enter my mate Ian. Never being known as a shrinking violet, he marches straight up to the grumpy looking doorman and asks what is going on. Turns out it was a bar-mizvah for some posh kid. The production company vans, the lighting, props etc I had seen being taken in were for the themed party. What a waste of time.

All in all the day was crap. But, it was my first day back and I was pleased to have got back into the swing of things.

Now that the dust has settled a wee bit ref Portugal, I am now in the early stages of arranging a claim for wrongful arrest and imprisonment amongst other things. Work on the book has now began in ernest!

Portuguese nightmare

2012-05-22T06:46:00.001-07:00

All content of this post are mine and do not represent the thoughts or actions of anyone else.

My dodgy knee ached as I stood up. I looked down at the gleaming white toilet fittings with an air of satisfaction. Like most families, we share the burdens of housework. It had been my turn to clean the toilet. Downstairs I could hear the kids talking to Laura, my wife. They were banging on about homework and school. I noticed that I had spilled some bleach on my t shirt and mentally prepared myself for a gentle blocking - 'another t shirt ruined blah blah'. Such was the normality of my domestic situation on the early evening of Tue 6th March.

I came downstairs and lay on the couch to stretch my knee and ease the pain. I had began to drift off to sleep when there was a knock at the door. Laura answered and I heard a voice say ' Does Graham Mitchell live here'? As I stood up, three cops were at my wife's invitation, coming into the front room.

Immediately my mind sprang back to the day before. I had been at the scene of a police incident and had been asking for details of what was happening. 'Had I pushed too hard for information', had I ‘unwittingly witnessed something and was about to be questioned about it it'? No, what happened next has catapulted my family and I into a world of despair.

My teenage son was at the dinning table doing his homework. The cop sat down and asked if my son could leave the room. Sensing bad news, I sent M (my son) upstairs, reassuring him that it was to do with work. The cop spoke to me in hushed tones, seemingly mindful that there were kids in the house. He explained that there had been an arrest warrant issued for me by the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). The charge on the warrant was one of first degree murder. He further explained that I was wanted by the police in Portugal. I was facing extradition. I felt the blood drain from my face. Portugal. The word made my blood run cold. I became aware of my hands starting to shake.

I was taken to Canterbury police station. There was no interview, no chance to put forward my side of the story. I was accused of murder by someone in a country 1000 or so miles away and was not allowed to offer any defence.

Back in 1994 I had gone on what at the time, was a fairly regular break for me. A few days big game fishing, with maybe a round of golf thrown in if time permitted, on the Algarve. However, this was to be no ordinary weekend away.

My traveling companion on this trip was my ex-girlfriends younger brother, WT. On our first night in Portugal we decided to head to Albuferia for a meal and a few drinks. This was not a night on the piss - we were booked to go fishing the next day, leaving the marina on an early tide. Hangovers and bobbing about in a small boat on the Atlantic don't mix!

We were waiting at a deserted taxi rank when we were approached by two guys, who asked us if we spoke English. We replied yes and from nowhere several cops appeared. We were handcuffed and taken to a police station. While in the police station I was tortured. I saw people being tortured as well. I am not going into details at the moment, but we are not talking about Chinese burns!

The result of us being at that taxi rank changed my life. We spent the next one year and two weeks in a Portuguese prison. The first eleven months of that time were served without either of us being charged with anything. We were held on suspicion of attempted murder. Portuguese prison is like something from a third world country. I saw things that no person should ever have to see. Again, I'm not going into details - yet!

We avoided contacting the media in the UK. We thought that it may antagonise the Portuguese authorities, such was our level of fear and distrust. Eventually after almost a year on remand it was decided the time had come to involve the UK media. This began with the Mail on Sunday. They ran a large article on the case. This article was seized upon by BBC Panorama who were in the process of filming a program based on Europeans who had been arrested abroad, and were keen to get involved.

Things moved fast from here on. We were charged with attempted murder and a trial date was set. This was what we were waiting for. We were going to be given the chance to tell our version of events. We would have an interpreter and a lawyer.

The trial is a blur to me. I remember looking at the three judges sitting on the bench, and seeing the prosecutor asleep with his head on his hand. I believe this was picked up by the Panorama team, who were granted access to the court, and filmed events as they happened.

In August 1994 we had a private investigator, along with a German lawyer visit the victim in Germany and obtain a statement detailing what happened on that night. He was asked for descriptions of the people involved. They bore no resemblance to either of us. He was even shown photographs of us and again he said it was not us. This evidence was not allowed to be put to the court.

The prosecution produced two witnesses who claimed to have seen the incident. They described a scene where the victim was punched over a wall. They say we checked to make sure he was dead, before walking away laughing. As well as capturing the footage of the sleeping prosecutor, Panorama also uncovered some vital evidential facts. In an interview secretly recorded by Tom Mangold of BBC Panorama, one of the 'witnesses' admits that what he actually saw was an accident.

We had a nerve racking wait of a week or so before the day of the judgement. Arriving at court we took our place in the dock and awaited the judges decision. Via an interpreter, the decision was handed down - not guilty. Free to go. Just to clarify this point - it was a not guilty verdict, not bailed to return or any other form of release, it was not guilty. This is clear from the Panorama footage.

Needless to say we were overjoyed to finally be free. We remained in Portugal for a few days rest, before boarding a flight back to the UK.

Fast forward 18 years.

Now my life is in limbo. After being arrested at home I was taken to the local police station for the night. It was frustrating as there was no chance to explain my innocence. Not that the police refused to listen, the simple fact of the matter is that they knew nothing about the case. They just arrested me and locked me in a cell.

Next day I appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court. My defence to the extradition request is that I have already been tried and acquitted of a serious crime in Portugal. However, the warrant is for the 'new' crime of 1st degree murder. The judge asked that the question of my having previously been tried, be answered officially. Although granted bail, there were conditions attached, £5000.00 surety, surrender of passport, and a nightly reporting to the police station rule. As my court appearance was one of the last in the day, my bail conditions could not be met immediately so I was taken to Wandsworth prison. As the warrant was for first degree murder, I was treated as 'Cat A' and held on the secure wing.

Around 1600 the next day my bail conditions paperwork had filtered through to the prison and I was released. As I stood outside the gates of Wandsworth prison the relief was overwhelming and I broke down into floods of tears.

Today, Tue 20th March has been an endless round of press interviews. It seems a lot of people are interested in the case. The thing is, we still have not had any official word from the Portuguese as to what they actually want me for, so there is not a lot I can tell the media, except for the harm this is doing to my family and I. There are so many questions that need answering. I don’t even know what I have to defend myself against yet. It could be anything. Until the Portuguese say what they want me for, I can't even begin to formulate any defence. The one thing that seems to have become clear is that the 1^st degree murder charge seems to be the result of…….. a translation error! Oh well, that’s ok then, except, it’s not really, is it? The warrant has to be translated by a certified translator, in the country of issue - am I really supposed to believe that a court certified translator made such a mistake or, was the 'error' an attempt to push the warrant for me to the top of the pile in the already overflowing 'For Action' tray? Lets be clear here, 18 years have have past since the original trial - more than enough time to have a warrant issued in any circumstances.

The European Arrest Warrant is a seriously flawed piece of legislation. This has been proved time after time. The police and judges in the UK have no opportunity to test any evidence in the case, the judge only has to be satisfied that the warrant is in order. There is a real need for a form of cross border arrest warrant, but it has to be administered properly. All legal systems are not equal. The checks and balances available to the legal system in the UK are not seen as necessary in all countries.

Fair Trials International have been indispensable. From the first day they reassured my wife, arranged the correct legal representation for me, both in the UK and in Portugal, as well as handling the media. They were always at the end of the phone, even if I just wanted to have a bloody good moan. They understand.

The BBC had a free-lance journalist working in Portugal. Through him, they uncovered the fact that my original not guilty verdict had been overturned, and a retrial had been ordered. This came as a massive kick in the stones. However, there was no confirmation of this from the Portuguese authorities, so we had to treat it as speculation. Some weeks after the BBC's discovery, we received confirmation that the speculation was correct.

So, a retrial. What was the reason behind this? There must be new evidence. The Stephen Lawrance trial sprang to mind. Was this a similar situation? No, The reason for the retrial was, in layman's terms this - when the judge handed down her correct not guilty decision, she did not explain her reasons for the verdict properly. No new evidence, no forensics, nada. The verdict had been overturned on a legal technicality.

It has since transpired that a court appointed lawyer was given the task of representing me. The problem here is that despite being easily contactable, they had not informed me of these developments. The Supreme Court in Portugal ordered a retrial and still they did not inform me. The claim that I have been living as a 'fugitive from justice' is quite frankly 'bollocks'. Since 95 I have appeared in a UK court, passed a CRB check, flown abroad several times and applied for a new passport, I have had my details checked several times on the PNC and there has never been any mention of a warrant or retrial. Not to mention paying tax, being on the electoral role etc, etc.

By now my fear and frustration was becoming overwhelming. It seemed that they were out to get me and I had no idea why.

Step forward AnnaRaccon. (www.annaraccoon.com) She and her readers had been a tower of support. Anna's readers are an intelligent bunch and to have them onside was great. Now however, she came into her own. The tentacles of the Raccoon network stretch far and wide. She discovered that the victim was attempting to claim compensation for his injuries. I knew nothing about this. I'll leave the details of this investigation for Anna to blog about if she wishes. It's enough for me to say that she discovered details that were crucial - the main ones being that my 'murder' victim was still alive, and that he was keen to claim compensation. During the trial the victim was asked if he could recognise his attackers. he replied yes. He was asked to point them out to the court. He pointed to some people in the press gallery. He was asked if he was sure. He replied 'yes'. Why did he now want to claim compensation from me? The stench of rattus norvegicus was getting stronger!

The arrest warrant stated that the statute of limitations for criminal proceedings on the crime was due to expire on May 4th 2012. On the face of it, unless the Portuguese could get me over there to face another trial, the statute of limitations would expire, and that would be that. Ok, why worry I hear you ask? I continued to worry because the Portuguese authorities have a habit of getting things wrong, don't forget, the warrant was for a crime that even they agree was wrong as the victim was still alive. Why should I believe anything they say? The extradition hearing was scheduled for 12th July 2012 at Westminster Mags.

A Portuguese judicial spokesman told the BBC free-lancer in Portugal that two dates had been set for my trial, and that they may go ahead in my absence. The dates were for two days in April. However, the Portuguese again did not bother to inform me or my lawyers of this. Even now I don't know if this trial went ahead.

I have always wondered what happened to the victim on the night. The first time I clapped eyes on him was during the trial in 95. What I knew was that he was on holiday with a football team. Recently, I have come into possession of some official documents that show exactly what happened to him, where it happened and many other details. The description of events contained in these documents is completely different to the description of events given by the 'star prosecution witnesses' and the police. It is completely different to the description of the crime on the arrest warrant. Not even the location is the same. I now have to work out what to do with this information.

The statute of limitations date (4 May2012) came and went with no news. It seemed that I had been right to doubt the accuracy of the information regarding this on the arrest warrant. There was nothing for it. A Portuguese lawyer was going to have to be employed 'in country'.

Last week, my Portuguese lawyer discovered that the Judge had closed the case and withdrawn the extradition request on May 4th 2012 as the statute of limitations had passed. The paperwork shows the judge ordered the Portuguese police to inform the UK authorities of this. They didn't bother doing this. Were it not for my lawyer going to the court, I could still be waiting, still on bail, my family and friends would still be worried about me.

Last Thursday, news reached me via my lawyer in London that it was all over.

This has been brutal for my family and I. There have been some very, very dark moments. My health has suffered. What has made it easier is the massive support given to us be friends, and strangers alike. It is hard to describe in words how much the support we received helped. This will sound a bit like an Oscars speech but sod it -

Huge thanks go to Jago Russell and the team at Fair Trials International, Ed Grange from Sonn, MacMillan and Walker, Ben Cooper from Doughty Street Chambers, Vanya Costa Ramos from Portugal, Julian Brazier MP, Annaraccoon, her readers, all from IG's blog, my 'brothers' (you know who you are) and friends old and new, who were there when it counted. We will never forget your support and kindness. Thank you.

Syrian protest in London

2012-03-19T13:28:00.001-07:00

Syrian protest, London, 17 March 2012

This was my first solo outing since the large elephant entered the room. Regular readers will know what I am talking about, non- regulars will find out in the next post, where I will blog on my ‘experience’ so far.

I had a choice of two events to attend on Saturday, the Syrian anniversary protest, or the Save the NHS demo. I opted for the Syrians, purely on the basis that I was more likely to sell some shots from that one.

I waited at Marble Arch. The protest was due to come down Edgeware Rd, onto Park Lane, and finally onto Belgarve Square, home of the Syrian embassy.

Rumours had been doing the rounds of the social network sites that a group of Pro- Assad demonstrators were going too ambush the protest around the Hyde Park Corner area. I recced the march route before hand and there was no sign of any pro-regime protetsers.

The previous day, MSM commentators were estimating the size of the march as appx 6000, with coaches traveling to the capital from around the UK. On the day there were perhaps 1000 anti- Assad marchers.

I shot a few frames at Marble Arch and then headed down to the embassy.

Arriving in Belgrave Square it was clear that the police were taking no chances. The ‘pens’ to contain the protesters were reinforced, with double barriers at the front. They also extended all the way round three sides of the square – Seemingly the police expected larger numbers as well.

The embassy building bears the scars of recent more ‘violent’ protests. The frontage of the building is pockmarked by the strike marks of paint bombs and windows which have been broken by bottles and stones. All of this is of course, in sharp contrast to buildings in Syria where the pockmarks are caused by machine gun rounds, and the windows have been broken by rockets and shrapnel.

The last time I covered the Syrian protests, their numbers were bolstered by the presence of many Hizb ut Tahrir members. I posted at the time I felt this was a bad move by the Anti Assad camp due to the extremist nature, and conflicting ideas regarding western intervention of Hizb ut Tahrir. This time they were not present. If their absence was a result of the Syrians realising that their worthwhile cause was being hi-jacked by an extremist group or not – well done to the Syrians. It makes it even easier for the neutrals in society to empathise with them.

It was great to see British news photographer Paul Conroy at the event. He is still on crutches but he is alive and home after the dreadful events in Syria which claimed the life of his colleague. I wish people would remember the risks that some photographers/camera men take in order to open the eyes of the world to events that, were it not for them, would remain just a story left to the imagination. Imagine a major news story without photographs – the saying ‘ A pictures tells a thousand words’ is very true.

As for the Anti Assad camp, they were vocal, colourful, and well behaved. There were several coach loads from around the country present, with some traveling from as far away as Scotland.

There was another protest going on at the same time. Just further along the square and separated by a no-mans land, was a small protest by Pro Assad Syrians. They were perhaps 50 in number and vocally were no match for their anti Assad countrymen, despite the presence of a very professional looking sound system.

There was a strange sense of the Pro Assad demo being ‘choreographed’. Whether it was the posh sound system and purpose built stage, or perhaps the way all the protesters had the same brand new looking flags, I couldnt put my finger on it. What it reminded me of was the early days of the Lybian protests in London. Back then, the pro-regime protesters were rumoured to have been ordered to attend, on fear of being returned to their homeland, or in some cases, paid to be there. This is of course, wild speculation on my part! That said, they too were well behaved. In fact I did not see one arrest during the whole event.

Neither did I see any overweight police men/women – but then again, I was in Belgrave Square, not in the waiting area of a dietery advice centre!

I cant end without a mention of the Portugal ‘thing’. First off, and from the bottom of my heart, a massive, massive thank you to those who have offered support, voiced opinions and generally just been there for me so far. As a family we have been overwhelmed by the levels of support shown, by even complete strangers.

The help and support from www.annaraccoon.com has been second to none. She certainly has the knack of shall we say 'information gathering'.

I will be blogging a detailed account of events leading up to my arrest and some events since, soon, in fact, perhaps tomorrow.

In the meantime, BBC breakfast news will be airing some pre recorded interviews with my wife and I tomorrow morning. I am being interviewed on BBC Radio 4 live as well from 10.00 am.

Once again, many thanks.

Graham

Bro, am gonna blow ya away, innit

2012-02-27T05:08:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post and Ive done quite a lot, so this is a fairly long post. Try not to nod off. On Sat 18 Feb there was another Syrian protest at their embassy in Belgrave Square. This time however, the protest was to be proceeded by a march.

The MSM is full of interviews with politians and 'activists' who want western intervention in Syria, whether in the form of sanctions, no fly zones or even the military option. I have written in the past that the regular protesters at the embassy are all for the military option. They see it as the only way to depose Assad. I was more than a wee bit surprised to see the march to the embassy consisted of around 1000 members of the Islamic extremist group, Hizb ut Tahrir. This group is banned in many countries, and had Cameron not reneged on his pre elections promise, they would be banned in the UK as well.

The Hizb ut Tahrir stance on Syria, as many of the placards they carried on the march stated, is no form of intervention at all. This begs the question 'Why would a group of Syrians, who openly campaign for military intervention, suddenly be hand in glove with an extremist group, who are their polar opposite when it comes to the question of intervention?'

Hizb ut Tahrir should be banned in the UK. They have publicly said that those who believe in democracy are 'Kafir' (unclean). They allegedly say it is 'dangerous' for Muslims to integrate into western society. They have long been suspected as being a driving force behind the radicalisation of Muslim youths in the UK, indeed would - be suicide bomber Omar Sharif was allegedly radicalised partly by Hitz ut Tahrir activists at his UK university.

Where the Syrian demos at the embassy have always been a mixed effort, with men, women, and children all mixed together, this time the women were forced to march behind the men, and were kept separate from them during the static protest at there embassy.

None of the Hitz ut Tahrir hierarchy were present during the march or demo at the embassy. A look at the photo at the top of this post gives an insight as to the ages of the Hitz ut Tahrir marchers. It would be impossible to say whether these young guys are being radicalised. However, it's no stretch of the imagination to see them as another generation of Muslim youth who will fail , due to the influence of community ideology, to integrate into western society. Thankfully, most in the community have nothing to do with these extremist groups. The protest at the embassy ended peacefully. The bottom line is I can't see how a group with alleged links to Islamic terrorism is going to help the poor sods who are being killed on a daily basis in Syria. All it does is cloud the public perception of the Syrian protesters in London. Alleged hardline Islamic terrorists protesting against a govt? Anyone see a pattern emerging?

On the 23rd I spent the morning at Operation Forward Defensive. This was a full scale training exercise for the emergency services. The scenario was all too familiar in London. A terror threat in a tube station. For the purpose of the exercise, the disused Aldgate station was opened. From the media gallery opposite it looked impressive, with a full array of emergency services responding quickly. I felt sorry for the drivers of the silver police carriers. Having dropped their cargo of cops outside the station, they then had move the vans away. This entailed driving down the centre of the road, lined on both sides by emergency vehicles of all sorts, all under the gaze of the media. The gap either side of the vans looked to be centimetres wide.
They managed it without any scrapes, although this was done at walking pace. One example of what it would probably be like in the real situation. After watching the initial evacuation of the station and treatment of the injured, I nipped inside to see what is normally the unseen aspect. The police had a large room equipped with tables and officers were busy taking statements and details from witnesses. It looked very well organised. It must be a hell of a job to do in real situations where people are in shock, injured etc.

In the afternoon it was off to Whitehall. Yet again there was a distinctly African flavour to the proceedings. I was due to photograph the delegates from the Kick Racism Out of Football conference that was being hosted by the PM. However, I was late and missed it. Ah well, there were appx 3000 Somali protesters opposite the gate to Downing Street.

Now, Somalia gets a bad press in the UK. Mostly down to the inner city gangs of Somali youths who are responsible for a lot of crime in London. Oh yeah, and everyone has seen Black Hawk Down! I have to confess that I expected trouble at the protest.

I started to take a few shots and was surprised to find the protesters posing for the camera. There were none of the masked youths found at Congolese demos. The crowd were colourful, friendly and noisy. I asked them for details of the protest - why, what, where, etc. It was explained to me that these protesters came from the north of the country and referred to this area as Somali-land. They want recognition of their part of the country as an independent state. They hated the Somali people and the transitional govt. This was the biggest demo in Whitehall for ages and I did not see one arrest. They left at the designated dispersal time, some shaking hands with the cops as they left.

I popped into Downing St and photographed David Scameron meeting the Nigerian president, the bizarrely named Good Lock Johnathan. After the photo call it was time for home.

Arriving at Westminster tube station there were two BTP vans outside but that is not unsual. However, suddenly another two cars and an ambulance arrived with blue lights on. The occupants rushed into the station. I spoke to the young guy who was handing out the Evening Standard outside the station and asked what the crack was. He explained that there had been a big fight outside the station a few moments earlier between some people from the protest ( most of them had flags and were in fancy dress) and another group of young black guys. They had continued the fight down on a platform. He said the police had gone charging down with dogs.

Bro, am gonna blow ya away innit

Ok, I unpacked the cameras and waited. Before long a young black kid was led out by paramedics and put in an ambulance. He was followed by a WPC with a prisoner. The prisoner was young and black. His hood was up covering his face. To say he was surprised to be photographed is an understatement. He went mental. The death threats rang out - ' Bro, am gonna blow ya away innit'. 'Delete dem photos now ya pussy'. ' Wot day for anyway?' When I told him they were for the papers he lost it, struggling to break free from his WPC escort, while telling me all the things he was to do to me with his gun and his knife. I was aware that several arrests had been made down on the platform and I wanted to photograph them all. However, I was on London Underground property and the cops were not keen on me taking any more shots as it was clearly making the prisoners even more violent and harder for them to handle. They didn't move me but I sensed it wouldn't be long before they did. I had a couple of shots so once again I packed my gear away. As the platform in the station was shut, I decided to walk to Leicester Square station.

As I headed up St Martins Lane I noticed a police CCTV van and several coppers pulling cars over to a coned off area at the side of the road. I spoke to a Sgt to find out what was happening and he explained they were checking for illegal minicabs and defective vehicles. I asked did he mind if I photographed them working, suggesting that it was good PR for the Met's Safer London campaign. He agreed and once again I unpacked my cameras. I stayed for an hour. I saw seven cars stopped. Of that seven one driver was found to have allegedly have no licence, no insurance, and the was wanted for allegedly leaving a petrol station without paying for fuel. I found this out by earwigging on a conversation between some of the cops. Within thirty minutes the car was seized and towed away. Passers-by asked the cops what was happening and everyone seemed pleased to see the visible police presence in the west end.

There is a very busy few weeks coming up so I should be back to posting regularly soon.

Are the Met running out of riot cops?

2012-02-05T10:36:00.000-08:00

My plan for Sat was to head to Leicester for the EDL demo. However, the weather forecast was not good and I did not fancy getting stuck there if the weather turned. Instead, I decided to head to the Syrian embassy in London. Ive covered lots of demos there recently, but overnight a group of protesters had managed to break into the building. There were promises of more of the similar to come. This was unusual, the Syrians have always been peaceful demonstrators. The situation in Syria has deteriorated over the past weeks and with UN Security Council meeting later on Saturday, the protesters were keen to get maximum publicity.

There were only a few hundred protesters and a handful of police present when I arrived. This is kind of par for the course with the Syrians. The embassy building bore the scars of the previous nights attack. A large window had been kicked in and there were a few paint splashes on the magnolia walls. The protesters were the usual mix of young men and families. There were speeches and chants.

When you attend as many of these protest meetings as I do, you develop a sense of how they operate. The protesters were as usual, held in a pen, contained by metal barriers. I knew something was afoot when the women and children all moved to one end of the pen and the young men in the crowd approached the front barriers. Suddenly a shout went up and the men flooded out the pen. Some jumped the barrier, some pushed the barriers aside. There were perhaps 20 cops trying to contain a crowd of appx 100 protesters, hell bent on reaching the embassy across the road.

While this was going on, a truck was unloading 1 ton sand bags to reinforce the embassies defences. The cops managed to force some of the protesters back into the pen, while others reached the barriers on the embassy side of the road. Until this, the embassy side of the road was guarded by only two cops on the door. Quickly they were replaced by 8 others in helmets and short shields, with batons drawn. The police managed to get most of the Syrians back in the pen. However, now the protesters were throwing anything they could get their hands on at the embassy building. Dozens of full plastic water bottles, eggs and sticks were thrown.

There was another charge by the crowd in the pen. Again the barriers were overcome and the police brushed aside. There were just not enough police. Once the cops who were there started holding a protester, they were soon all busy and the superior numbers of the protesters reached the barrier on the embassy side of the road. The cops guarding the embassy had long shields and they used these to fend off the protesters who were now beginning to climb over the double layers of barriers and sandbags in their determination to get to the embassy.

Having run out of bottles etc to throw at the embassy, they protesters now turned to concrete blocks. They smashed up lumps of concrete used to hold the metal fence separating the protest pens in place. They were then thrown at the embassy. Soon, windows were being smashed. Some of the lumps thrown were huge. It is only luck that none of the police or protesters at the front were seriously injured or killed. Again the lack of police was highlighted. There were cops guarding the embassy, cops trying to force protesters back into the pen, cops trying to stop the concrete being smashed and thrown. Only the cops guarding the embassy were successful in their task. That's not to say the others were no good, they were very brave and really up for it. There were just not enough of them. I saw several brick throwers grabbed by cops, only to have three or four of the brick throwers friends pull him back into the crowd.

It would be hard to criticise the police planning of this event. Ive already said - the Syrians don't normally cause trouble. That said, events at the embassy the previous nigh should perhaps have rang some alarm bells. As a regular at protest events, one stood out yesterday. That was the time it took to get the riot cops to get there. I heard the call for reinforcements go out. It was a long time after when they arrived. I would hazard a guess that most of the TSG units were way across London, policing the West Ham v Millwall game. Mind you, that's just a guess!

Now, I'm no expert, but Ive noticed a trend appearing on some of the better police blogs. There seems to be a lot of cops, 'Handing in their public order ticket'. I'm presuming that means that they are not volunteering for that sort of duty(riots, demos etc) anymore. Who would blame them? They get shafted if they are too 'robust', they get shafted if they are too soft. They cant strike, and their bosses don't seem to have a clue as to what actually happens on the streets.

The thing that saved the cops from a lot of injuries yesterday was surprisingly, the attitude of the protesters. The cops had to use batons on many protesters. However, rather than fight with the police, the protesters just carried on trying to reach the embassy. There was no sense of the protesters wanting trouble as such, they just were intent on reaching the embassy. Even when the police had the TSG in place and began arresting those involved, the arrested walked calmly to the waiting police vans.

The protesters got their publicity. Both Sky and BBC had crews present. As it happens, the gorgeous Katie Stallard (blonde Sky news chick) was felled by a full plastic water bottle thrown by a demonstrator. Russia and China blocked the UN vote. There will be more of this to come.

So fast forward a few month to the Olympics. I would imagine the Met will use the 'mutual aid scheme', where they borrow officers from other forces. But will that be enough? There are going to be big protests during the games. How will the police cope with huge protests, the security implications of the games, and normal everyday duties? Will we see the army being used as public order police?

There is a good selection of action shots from the demo at http://mitchell-images.com/#/syrian-embassy/4560420989

It's All Kicking Off: Bodies found in Canterbury lake

2012-02-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

It's All Kicking Off: Bodies found in Canterbury lake: After a long uphill trudge through ankle deep mud, I reached the crest of the hill. Before me lay a flat area, blanketed by a light dusting...

Bodies found in Canterbury lake

2012-02-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

After a long uphill trudge through ankle deep mud, I reached the crest of the hill. Before me lay a flat area, blanketed by a light dusting of fresh snow. It was eerily quiet, save for the sound of the freezing wind that was driving the still falling snow into my face. 100 yards up head lay the beginning of the woods. That is where the bodies had been found. In a small lake, just outside Canterbury. Both the lads had been found in the water.

The day had started for me like any other. Kids off to school. Coffee and breakfast. I had heard late the night before that a body had been found in a local lake, but, at this time, details were sparse. Soon, breakfast was forgotten. A second body had been found and the police were treating both deaths as 'suspicious'.

Appeal for missing boy

I found the police RV point easily enough. Next to a primary school and as it transpired, only a few hundred yards from the site of the incident. There was no press officer on site and the cops were not giving any details out. There were already a few journos there and one of the MSM types had been speaking to his office and got the details. Briefly they were as follows - Two bodies, both male, both found in pond, one man in custody on suspicion of murder. There were posters attached to lamp posts in the surrounding area asking for info on a 17 year old boy who was missing.

There was nothing to photograph at the RV point, apart from some shots of the police vehicles, and the comings and goings of the white suited forensic officers. Being local, I knew there was another way to the scene but it meant a long trek over a military training area. That is where I headed.

I find it hard on jobs where there has been a death. Luckily it doesn't happen often. I worked on a house fire a few months ago where three people died (a mother and two of her kids). I photographed the burned out front of the house, and the blackened shell of the bedroom where the deaths had occurred. There was an horrible feeling of sadness, even though I had no connection to the deceased.

This time however, I felt no sadness. I had the usual questions going round in my head, best shot, light, how to dodge the police cordon if there was one, camera settings etc.

PCSO mans the cordon

So, back to my uphill trek. I was soon onto a path which led through the woods and on to the lake. There was no sign of a police cordon. This is a military training area, but it is open to the public. The path was rutted with deep tyre tracks, filled with water, mud and snow. As I neared the lake area, my hopes of sneaking an easy, clear shot were dashed. Up ahead stood a PCSO manning a cordon tape. Give him his due, PCSO or not, he was not giving away any details of the events. Behind him, in the distance I could see some activity. Divers were moving bits of kit around. There are also forensic people and other cops. OK, so I was not getting near the scene from here, but, this is in the woods. There must be a way to sneak past the cops, even if it meant crawling through the bushes. I knew I would not get close up, but perhaps I could get a shot of the lake from a distance on a long lens. I was still unperturbed by the fact it was the scene of two deaths.

I made my way back down the track, and as soon as the PCSO gave up watching my retreating figure, I headed off the track and into the bushes. Each bush I disturbed sent freezing cold snow cascading down my neck. I found another track, well away from the PCSO and his cordon tape. As I rounded a bend on this track my hopes were again dashed. Another PCSO and another cordon tape. By now I was soaked to the skin and freezing. My fingers were so cold I could barely keep them still enough to change the settings on my cameras. I was heading down to the main track when I heard the engine. An army land rover was
heading for the first cordon I had encountered.

Army land rover and divers

The land rover was behind the cordon as I approached the tape. The divers were loading some gear on board. I had thought perhaps the land rover had been called to move the second body such was the nature of the terrain. It was not to be. I took some shots of the scene and decided to call it a day. The cops had the scene well guarded and there was no way I could find to get past it.

I had some decent shots, but nothing out of the ordinary. I made my way back down the track. I was bursting for a pee. I could hear an engine so I decided to nip into the bushes and do what had to be done. As I was zipping up, something caught my eye. Through the bushes I could make out something white. I forced my way through the gorse and of in the distance I could see a white forensic tent. The kind the police erect over the scene of a body.

I took several shots on a long lens. As I stood looking at the shots on the camera, the sadness came. The enormity of events caught up with me. Two families had lost their sons. Lives had been changed for ever. It was the sight of the forensic tent. It seemed to make things real. How the emergency services or photographers/journos in war zones deal with death on a regular basis is beyond me. I suppose they see it on such a regular basis they become hardened to it over time?

There were two arrests regarding this case. The post mortem revealed both young men (17 and 24) had met their death by drowning. The man who was being held on suspicion of murder was released without charge. The second man who was arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled substance, was released on bail.

The night the boys were last seen alive was freezing cold. It is easy to draw the conclusion that they went into the water as a result of taking drugs. The police are awaiting toxicology test results, so time will tell if drugs were involved.

Next for me is a trip to Leicester on Saturday. The EDL are protesting about the lenient sentencing given to the gang of Asian girls who attacked a young white girl. This is a clear case of 'if it goes tits up, the one to blame is the judge who imposed the sentence'.

All aboard the bandwagon

2012-01-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since my last post. The reason for this is simple - there has been nothing for me to blog about. Protests have been thin on the ground. It seems that that is about to change. More on that later.

This blog has been up and running for a year now. On the whole the regular readers are a sensible lot. Yeah, there are loads of lefties who seem to take offence at anything that doesn't fit with their way of thinking. Nothing new there then! Some of the comments they leave are vile - I'm glad to say I have not contracted cancer and my family are all OK. I have been accused of hating disabled people, being racist, being a policeman, being in the EDL, Combat18, BNP, and the list goes on. I get nice comments as well but I have to say the negatives outweigh the nice. Some people just cant handle the truth!

So, the shot at the top of the page? I received news that the Port of Dover had been shut due to 'an incident'. As I made my down to Dover the news reported that the reason for the closure was the army dealing with a number of weapons that had been found on a vehicle entering the country. I arrived just as the cordon was lifted and the roads re-opened - sods law! It transpired that two vehicles, a lorry and a car had been stopped coming off a ferry, and were found to be carrying an amount of decommissioned weapons. Ok, well done the port security for finding them. However, local newspapers are now carrying a story that the two drivers, neither of whom are UK citizens, were held by UKBA and questioned under ' the landmines act '. Hmmmm?

I popped along to the Egyptian embassy in London on the 1 year anniversary of the uprising. The Egyptian protesters are a really nice bunch. I have covered lots of their demos and they are always pleasant, easy to approach, and respectful to the police. This demo was no different. They arrived at the official start time, had their demo and left at the time arranged. No grief, no drama and their message got across. I have it on good authority they could have pulled off a spectacular, but harmless publicity stunt, but decided against it. They did not want to fall foul of the law. They could certainly show some other protest groups how to stage a demonstration.

bandwagon jumping

Sat 28th was looking like a busy day. Ukuncut were hooking up with a group of disabled folk to protest at the proposed cuts to welfare payments. Social networks were alive with a 'sinister' plan to meet up and head to a secret location for a 'daring action'. The details of which would be announced only once the group had gathered at the tube station. I was amazed when the 'secret' location was announced on the Sky news headlines early on Sat morning.

Ukuncut protests about tax avoidance doesn't it? When did the plight of the disabled become a cause for them? Simple, it became a cause for them when they realised that disabled people are a key to the world of publicity. Who could argue with a group who participate in helping the disabled? Would such a group cause damage and destruction to property, surely not? Well cast your mind back to the damage caused to Top Shop on a regular basis, and the wrecking of The Ritz Hotel along with Fortnum and Masons. Ukuncut showed their true colours due to their involvement in those acts of criminality. Perhaps they have changed. Unlikely, I was told that when the police asked the demo at Oxford Circus to disperse (after allowing it to continue for a few hours), the disabled folk were ready to go, but several able bodied yoots in hoodies were trying to persuade them to stay and ignore the police request.

My kids both receive DLA and they will be hit as hard as anyone by any cuts. However, the involvement of a bunch of crusty, wannabe anarchists in any protests is not welcome.

a not so Iranian starts a fight in the crowd

The spectre of another war in the middle east, Iran this time, is never far away from the news headlines. It came as no surprise when The Stop the War Coalition announced a demo titled 'Dont Bomb Iran', at the American Embassy in London. Before the Iraq War, STWC were responsible for the biggest protest march ever seen in the UK, with an estimated 2 million people marching through London. Despite regular marches and demos since, they have never managed to repeat the success of the Iraq war march. As causes go, their events are usually poorly attended. Those that do attend seem to be English middle aged people along with a smattering of students and uk based middle eastern families. They never cause trouble.

When I arrived at the embassy just prior to the start time, the area was busy. There was the usual mini grey army of elderly British couples, wearing matching weatherproof jackets, carrying packed lunches in Tupperware boxes, you know the type, but the bulk of the crowd were of middle eastern appearance. There were flags from Iran and Syria. As soon as the speeches started it became clear that there were several opposing factions involved in the demo. Speakers were shouted down forcing the announcer to appeal for calm. His appeal went unheeded and the heckling of the speakers continued.

another fight in the crowd

From my elevated position on top of some street furniture, I had a clear view over the crowd. It seemed that the Iranians were split into two camps - pro regime and anti regime. There was a real hatred between them. It was only a matter of time before some of the now sizable police presence had to intervene. Several times fights broke out in the crowd. Nothing nasty, just pushing and hitting each other with placards. The police separated the culprits and formed a line between the two groups.

As well as the two contingents of Iranians, there were Syrians, protesting at the continuing trouble in their country. So the scene is set, groups of people protesting about events happening in their homeland and against the looming possibility of war in Iran.

someone fromm 'Occupy'

I smelled them before I saw them. Yup fresh from a smelly tent on the pavement outside St Pauls, those home counties heroes, those defenders of the poor, 'Occupy' had decided that the looming war in Iran was worthy of their involvement. I'll bet Ahmadinejad will be pleased to have such worthy allies. Seriously though, what does this cause have to do with them? If they tried to occupy anywhere in Iran they would be executed on the spot (not such a bad idea as it goes).

They did keep themselves separate from the main protest. They stayed in Grovesnor Gardens, behind a big hedge. The last time I saw Occupy try and 'lend support' to another cause it was the Congolese who were to benefit from their support. Unfortunately for the half dozen crustys from occupy who turned up with an occupy banner, the Congolese were none too pleased to see them, and they were chased off. Sadly, the Congolese never caught them!

I suspect the St Pauls lot will have plenty to complain about in the coming weeks. They are preparing for the forthcoming eviction by holding a series of non violent, anti eviction workshops. Non violent? yeah right.

Early March sees another week of student 'actions', including a planned march on Parliament. Given that figures announced this week show a decrease of up to 20% in uni applications, there is a good chance that this week of actions may lead to scenes similar to those seen in London in the last few years.

With protests planned by Syrians, Kurds, Romanians, Egyptians, the death of occupy St Pauls, anti- Olympics events and another, larger Don't Bomb Iran event, it is shaping up to be a busy spring.

More photos from Sat are at www.mitchell-images.com

We Brits are evil you know

2011-12-31T10:57:00.000-08:00

There was a distinct lack of festive spirit in London's Belgrave Square yesterday. The reason for this was a demonstration held by UK based Kurds. Around 500 of them gathered opposite the Turkish embassy. Their anger stems from a bombing raid carried out by the Turkish Air Force which left 35 dead and over 20 seriously wounded. The reason behind the bombing being that Turkey wrongly targeted a convoy of Kurdish smugglers crossing from Iraq into Turkey, believing them to be members of the outlawed PPK terrorist organisation. Turkey has admitted the error, although, the PKK has in the past disguised themselves as smugglers when crossing into Turkey from it's headquarters in Iraq.

The PKK is a banned group in the USA and European union. They are believed to have been responsible for hundreds of deaths in Turkey, with suicide bombings being a weapon of choice. They control areas on the Turkey/Iraq border and drugs are a major source of income, both from taxing smugglers using the border, and their own operations.

The Kurds are a displaced community and have suffered at the hands of many throughout history, with the genocidal gassing of thousands by Sadam Hussian's army being the most notable in recent years.

On to the protest then. There was an incident at Kings X station on the 29th Dec where the Kurdish protesters caused chaos by blocking the Euston Rd, forcing the closure of the station and fighting with the police. Several people were taken to hospital as a result of injuries sustained during the fighting. Social media platforms contained several threats of violence against the police at the demo the next day, as the protesters felt the police had over-reacted during the Kings X incident. I arrived an hour ahead of the advertised 1pm start time and found the police had set up a sizable protest pen opposite the Turkish embassy to facilitate the crowd. By 1pm the pen was full and the atmosphere of the crowd was already becoming emotionally charged. The main chant coming from the crowd was ''We are the PPK''.

The Congolese hate the UK as we apparently are responsible for just about all that is wrong in the DRC. Today I learnt that the Kurds hate us as well. Our crime? We supply chemical weapons to their enemies. I wonder if the chemical weapons were part of an exchange deal, you know, the one where they flood our streets with heroin? They cant hate us that much as the 'jungle' refugee camp in Calais is full of Kurds regularly putting their lives on the line in an effort to get into the UK illegally.

There were 4/5 police carriers in attendance although most of the officers stayed in the vans, with just the normal line outside the protest pen. Speaking to some of the younger protesters, they made it clear that should the police try to 'kettle' them, they would resist with violence if needed.

Police struggle to contain protesters

And so it came to pass. Despite only having permission for a static demo, they decided that they were going to march to Downing St. There were scuffles as the protesters forced their way past the eight or so cops charged with blocking the open end of the pen. Things looked as though they were going to turn ugly. I heard a senior officer on his radio calling for urgent back up. In a matter of minutes, the crowd had overwhelmed the cops and were streaming from the pen, making their way along Grosvenor Cres towards Hyde Park Corner.

By now the 'urgent assistance' had arrived and the junction at Grosvenor Cres/Duke of Wellington Place was blocked a large number of police vans. A decision was made and after a short time the protest was led down towards Whitehall via Victoria, on the pavement. Tourists and families out walking were forced aside as the protest made it's way, surrounded by a heavy police escort which included several TSG units.

Demo passes through Victoria

By now the promised rain had arrived with a vengeance. Reaching Whitehall, the march was met by even more police who shepherded them into the protest pen opposite Downing St. They remained there for 20 minutes and then dispersed peacefully. It was a good job they did leave peacefully. There were piles of 4 foot scaffold poles dotted about Whitehall which would have made fearsome weapons. It was also fortunate that the planned protest by the Congolese for Whitehall failed to materialise.

It goes without saying that the MSM in the UK took no notice of this protest.

On the subject of MSM, I see Sky in particular are still at running shy of the facts surrounding certain news stories. Take the story of the Boxing Day stabbing on Oxford St. It is plain that the deceased was a gang member and seems to have died as the result of inter-gang fighting. The police have even made pre-emptive arrests to try and stem reprisals. However, rather than tackle the issue and highlight the downside of a gang lifestyle to the younger potential gang members, Sky continue to bang on about how much his family miss him. It is a given that his family miss him. The media have missed a golden opportunity to do some good for a change. It seems to me that there were two ways to run the story- a. Tell the truth and upset the family and friends of the deceased, but perhaps persuade some impressionable kids that gangs are wrong. or - b. Run the story the way they have and leave the deceased to have almost martyr status among his friends, family and those on the fringes of gang society.

Coming hot on the heels of this gang murder is the utterly disgraceful inclusion in the New Years Honours list of ex gang member Christopher Preddie. Clearly he has seen the error of his ways and if the MSM is to be believed he tries to dissuade kids from joining gangs, but come on, an OBE - FFS!! What next, an honour given to Bobby Sands for his services to slimming?

More photos of the demo are at www.mitchell-images.com

Happy New Year

The great big Congolese conspiracy

2011-12-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country rich in minerals, precious metals, and diamonds. According to some of the thousand or so protesters who ran amoke in London yesterday, it is these resources, and the deals struck between western govts and the recently re-elected president Joseph Kabila regarding the pricing and supply of these assets that are at the route of the alledged election fraud in the African nation. The protesters believe that it is the western govt involvement in the country that has created what they see as a media blackout. They maintain that media exposure would highlight these dodgy goings on and lead to Kabila being deposed. It has to be said that the protesters have been causing chaos in London for the past few days, including having Oxford Circus tube station evacuated when they began causing problems on a train. There has been very little mainstream media coverage. There can be no doubt in even the most cynical of readers minds, that had it been students or the unions who had behaved this way, the MSM would be full of the lurid details. Whether or not this is the case who knows for sure? Personally, while I have no doubt about the claims of abuse of human rights by Kabila's forces, was the election rigged at the behest of western govts? I doubt it.

Protesters spoke passionately about the alledged behaviour of Kabila's army, who they claim are responsible for the murder, torture and rape of thousands of their fellow countrymen. They want Kabila out of power, and his forces disbanded. However, when I asked if they would be prepared to have a UN peacekeeping force, along with an aid package put in place to restore the infrastructure in Congo following the demise of the Kabila regime, hands were thrown up in horror, 'Oh no, it is our country' they cried. They would not accept that there are two sides to every story, refusing to even acknowledge that there are people who voted for Kabila. Unlike many other protests, it was not possible to speak to any pro-regime protesters as the only one who turned up was chased off with death threats ringing in her ears.

On to the actual protest then. Firstly, Congolese protesters are quite unlike any I have encountered before. Firstly, they are unable to communicate verbally without shouting. The almost tribal chanting and shuffling dances along with the high pitched screeching of the women certainly draw attention. While they were still enclosed in the protest pen, one of the females threw herself onto the ground in hysterics. There was a surreal moment when the police and photographers looked at her, then at each other, then back at her as if in disbelief at what they were seeing. It was as though the woman had been possessed by a demon, arms flailing as her body twisted and contorted, the language barrier and the tone of her screams made it sound as though she was speaking in tongues! The whole thing left me feeling quite discombobulated!

Crowds block Whitehall

The protesters remained in the protest pen until late afternoon. The arrival of a large group of youths who would not have looked out of place looting a shop during the London riots, seemed to lead to the peaceful protest descending into violence.

There was a normal police presence at the protest site, but there were plenty of police vans in the surrounding streets, out of sight. I mentioned the shuffling dance the protesters had been doing. This involved them shuffling up to, and often into, the faces of the cops who were guarding the sides of the pen and then backing away. This dance is what led to the protest spilling out onto Whitehall. When they reached the police line on one occasion, they surged past the cops and ran into the road. Almost immediately, police back up arrived and as some cops struggled unsuccessfully to force the protesters back onto the pavement, others were forming a line across Whitehall in front of Downing St.

police line

What ensued was a stalemate. The police were organised by now and the protesters were still dancing in the middle of Whitehall, some sitting down around a fire. It was now that the true spirit of most these protesters came to the surface. Photographers were threatened with violence and death. 'Dont take ma picture' screeched one young woman, the photographer who carried on doing his job, was soon surrounded by an angry crowd. Another photographer had a tug of war with some protesters as they blatantly tried to steal his camera. Their cries and shouts which had been so passionate earlier, were now filled with venom and threat. The simplest request from the police was met with open hostility or violence. Several protesters had armed themselves with broken sticks with pointed ends, like a small spear and they were attempting to stab the cops with these.

Four cops surrounded by crowd

A change of police tactics led to what could have been a very serious incident. A large line of perhaps 30 helmeted cops were making their way in single file from the far edge of the protest to the area behind the police line at Downing St. As the officers were moving through, the crowd began booing and the general noise increased. A few missiles were thrown and there was some pushing and shoving. However, the last four cops in the line became involved in an incident without the officers in front noticing. This led to the line of cops disappearing behind the line of vans at Downing St, leaving four of their number in the crowd. The crowd were on them in seconds. The four cops were surrounded on all sides. Punches and bottles were thrown and protesters tried to stab the cops with the pointed sticks. I looked around and it was clear that this had gone un-noticed by the other cops. A member of the press alerted other cops who went the aid of the four who were stranded. They managed to get the four and their prisoner behind the police line.

The police started to push the protest up Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square. While this was happening an officer was making PA announcements in English and in French. Traffic was held as the crowds blocked the road and many vehicles had occupants cowering in fear as protesters banged on the windows and roofs. Several female members of a choir who had been singing Christmas carols at the tree in Trafalgar Square were assaulted by protesters who ran off in the direction of the west end.

Once in the west end the protesters again damaged cars and shops as well as assaulting revellers in Piccadilly. They were eventually cornered by a large police presence including mounted officers, in Waterloo Place. Police removed everyone, including the press from the area and arrested those who were held.

Of course, no protest would be complete without some left wing involvement. Some numbskulls from OccupyLSX turned up as yup, you've guessed it, legal observers. Proudly wearing his hi-vis tabard, one such wee scrote engaged a cop with the line '' Proud of yourself are you? there's a pregnant woman in there (points at group of arrested protesters) you don't have to be cop'' What the Congo has to do with these halfwits I don't know.

Monday will bring a repeat. The protesters are planning to blockade the BBC during the day. They say the afternoon protest at Whitehall will be the biggest yet. They have had some MSM coverage as a result of yesterday and they will no-doubt be keen to capitalise on that.

More photographs are avaliable at www.mitchell-images.com

N30 strike in London

2011-12-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

A FAILURE - This is how I would describe my current attempt to stop smoking. Despite the help of my GP and the wonder drug Champix, I still cannot stop. My family have suffered from my anger and almost menopausal mood swings. I am wondering if it is all worth it. I have cut down from 20 a day to around 10 a week, and I feel a bit healthier. I suppose I have had a wee bit of of success, but it is overall, still a failure.

The same can be said for the N30 strike. They too had a wee bit of success - they turned out in numbers and got good MSM coverage, with some opinion polls giving as much as 70% public support. Good for them, no, I mean it. But, they still failed. The pensions will still be cut. My bin will still be emptied.

Getting off the tube at Holborn I found it was rammed outside with crowds heading to the start point of the march. The atmosphere reminded me of the first student march of last year before the Millbank episode), although the crowd was older. There was an almost carnival atmosphere, although there was a serious message to get across, the majority had smiles on their faces and seemed to be treating the event as day out. The police were out in numbers. As with the student march earlier in the month, all side roads, passages and alleyways on the march route were blocked by barriers and cops, ensuring that the marchers stuck to the route, a tactic that I know from speaking to a well known anarchist, the troublemakers see as the single biggest obstacle to them running amok in the west end. It can be no coincidence that this tactic has appeared since the new commissioner took his place at NSY.

The Savoy on the The Strand is a good vantage point to see the demo come past (it has also been mentioned as a possible target for the F&M treatment). I waited and looked for my target for the day - the masked up yoof, those who wave the red and black flags of the anarchist. All I saw were good natured people. The marchers were chatting to the accompanying police escort. Some of the marchers were in fancy dress, some were playing drums, trumpets etc. There were no 'yoof' or anarchists that I could see. The march went past my viewpoint without so much as a chorus of 'Boo' in the direction of the ostentatious grandeur of The Savoy.

I decided to check the usual pubs to see if the known troublemakers were there. Bingo, in the first pub I visited I found a group of them, huddled around a couple of tables clearly plotting the downfall of civilisation as we know it. Ok, so they were on the streets as it were, but how would I find out what they were planing? Would I have to surreptitiously ease my way over to stand near them, Pink Panther stylie, hoping to catch a snippet of the plans? I certainly didn't have time to get changed into dirty designer clothes, start to stink of body odour and learn to speak 'street' in a middle class accent in order to try and blend in.

TSG at Picadilly Circus

My first pint was not even halfway down when, being the media whores they are, the London version of the Occupy movement announced a meeting via Twitter - 'Everyone get to Piccadilly Circus at 3pm for an 'action'. Ah well, it's an easy life sometimes.

Arriving at Piccadilly Circus there were a few of OccupyLSX there, a few UKUncut and appx two hundred drunken Greek football fans, in town for last nights game against Spurs. It was amusing and telling watching the behaviour of the protesters. Normally at these events the air is full of home counties accents chanting 'whose streets our streets' or some such guff. This time however, being in close proximity to drunken' grown up football fans, who to be fair, did look as though they were up for a ruck, the protesters were quiet as mice. Their body language spoke volumes. They were shitting themselves. At one point the TSG stood on the high steps around the Eros statute. It looked as if they were prepared to stop the Greeks getting to the protesters. It transpired that unlike the general MSM view of Greeks at the moment,most of those present were from a nationalist team and viewed these English anarchists as something of an aperitifs before heading off to have Spurs as the main course.

The scene at Panton St

After a while, the protesters began to move off in the direction of the Haymarket, pursued by a media pack and a few coppers. One of those at the front lit a red flare and the mob turned up Panton St. The clown carrying the flare provided the funniest moment of the night when leading his band of smelly comrades, he fell flat on his face outside the target of their occupation, Panton House. The crowd rushed into the building, brushing aside the security man in the foyer. A few managed to get to the roof and unfurled a banner. For the briefest of moments I thought about Millbank and objects being thrown from the roof. However the TSG were hot on their heels and soon a series of protesters were being 'assisted' in leaving the building.

By this time the whole of the Haymarket was a police car park. There was everything from motorbikes to vans full of police dogs. There were even full size civilian coaches to take away the arrested. The protesters were kettled in PantonHaymarket. The helicopter hovered overhead, it's spotlight picking out members of the protesters. Once again the police deployed dot matrix signage to keep the troublemakers abreast of the current situation.

protesters square up to police on Haymarket

Help me Sebastian, I think I've been shot

As is the norm, it was only a matter of time before the protesters turned on the cops. A small group of them tried to push their way out of a police line. Punches were thrown by the demonstrators and a cop lost his hat. An officer who bent to retrieve the hat was the target of a kick aimed at his head which missed. For all their bluster and 'street smart' tactics I had to laugh at one of the protesters. After the police had pushed the protesters back, in order to allow the coach with its cargo of freshly arrested protesters to leave the area, one yob in particular was still mouthing off at cops, not realising that his comrades had retreated to the shadows. He was against a wall surrounded by cops. A few questions by the cops and this 'streetwise ruffian, this 'class warrior' was shaking like a shitting dog. I thought he would cry. I'm sure that when he returned to his tent at St Pauls he would have found a wee bit of poo had come out. While this was going on I noticed one of the protesters fall to the ground as though he had been shot by an unseen police sniper. Clutching an invisible stomach wound, he was helped to his feet and dragged off the battlefield by two of his comrades, . When I photographed this, they crowd turned on me. They honestly thought that I would stop shooting. I didn't.

There were only at most 150 protesters involved in this episode but the surprising thing is most of them were female. Ok, it may have been hard to tell with some of them (Movember and all that) most of them were more 'Tena Lady' than 'Sexy Lady'. the screech from these baggy jumper wearing harpies is worse than the dreaded vuvuzela.

protesters surround taxi driver on Haymarket

Finally, before the Haymarket became blocked with cops vehicles, two cabbies who tried to weave their way through the crowds of protesters. The cabs were slowly trying, foot by foot, to get through. The protesters took umbrage at this and started banging and kicking the cars. One driver, clearly scared, stayed in his car, the other, being what I would class a ' proper London cabbie,and a bit of an old geezer,' got out to remonstrate with the crowd. For asking the crowd to move, he was spat on and abused by the crowd. He got back in the cab and with the help of the cops, manged to drive away. It will be a sorry day for the protesters if normal working class people, just like that cabbie, realise that enough is enough and decide to take the law into their own hands and rid the streets of the rabble at St Pauls once and for all.

Quite why non of this has featured prominently in the MSM is open to debate. There was an ITV crew inside the building with the protesters, and they filmed all the arrests. I would like to think that the reason for this was to deprive the OccupyLSX of the publicity they crave. Cast your mind back to M26 this year and the last big union led protest in London. Tens of thousands of peaceful protesters had their moment in the media spotlight snatched away when the same clowns involved in the Haymarket debacle smashed up Fortnum and Masons. I for one am glad the MSM choose to largely ignore the troublemakers this time.

The Occupy 'brand' in London at least, again showed it's true colours yesterday. I have heard a rumour that a certain Mr Assange may be hosting an end of term bunga bunga party in the womens refuge tent at St Pauls. I understand there may be a display by an imported troop of banobo monkeys. Make of that what you will, but remember - you heard it here first.

More photographs of the day at www.mitchell-images.com

The problem with beggars these days ....

2011-11-07T02:06:00.000-08:00

I have stopped smoking. This did not make me a happy chap but It had to be done. The prospect of a very busy, full day on Sat took my mind off the plan I had been formulating, to bury the still warm bodies of my kids in the back garden, for daring to speak while I suffered my nicotine withdrawal. Everything made me angry - train 20 seconds late aarghhhhhhh bastard trains etc etc. Guy on train wearing headphones which let out that horrible tinny noise that is the hallmark of much cheapness in the audio dept - I could have strangled the fucker!, for every long, drawn out, seemingly endless, second of the journey. Most unlike me as I am usually very mild mannered - or so I am told.

pro - regime Syrian

First job of the day was at the Syrian Embassy to cover the Pro - regime demonstrators. I arrived at the demo to find perhaps 40/50 of them, penned in, opposite the embassy. They had flags and placards. The crowd were mixed, women (not a burkha in sight), kids and men. They were very friendly and happy to pose for the camera. These guys told a very different story than the one we see in the MSM which has been cobbled together from the mobile phone footage supplied by, well it could be anyone, couldn't it? One chap (a medical doctor in his 50's) told me a bit about life in his country, and why he was against the changes that are proposed by the demonstrators in Syria. He spoke of a country where there is a great western influence, where education to doctor of medicine level, along with many other professions, is free of charge, where women are treated as equals, and where at least according to him, the majority of the population are happy with the way things are, and have no desire to live in a country run by strict Sunni Muslims. This would see a reversal of many, if not all, of the western ways of life which the people have become so accustomed, and many have been born into. When put simply like this, it is had to see where the argument lies. However, this is the middle east and things are never really simple there are they?

fresh off the coach

Next job saw me heading down to Trafalgar Square to witness the arrival of those who sought to have history repeat itself by marching from Jarrow to London demanding jobs for all. Sadly for their left wing puppet masters, jobs were not all they demanded. Unlike their historical counterparts, these later day heroes of the modern socialist movement, spent a great part of the journey nestling in the comfort of an air conditioned coach, while dinning on (according to one marcher) 'toasted paninnis'. Ok, it's not exactly 'quails eggs stuffed with the frozen semen of a dodo bird', but I'm sure you get the point. Where the original marchers chanted slogans such as 'What do want - jobs for all', this march seemed more inclined to chant 'What do we want -' 'a shiatsu massage for my aching feet'. A piss poor publicity stunt set up by some leftist chaps. Tossers!

I took a quick trot (pardon the pun) from Trafalgar Square down to Downing St to photograph the Anti- regime Syrian protesters. This protest was made up of young men. They were noisy, but just as friendly and good natured as their pro-regime counterparts. Their placards depicted dreadful scenes of mutilated bodies, including children, who had perished in the alleged Govt clampdown on protest.

Two different versions of life in Syria, from two sets of people from across a religious divide. Which one is to be believed, or are they both partially right? Until the Syrian govt allows the international media in country to see for itself, it's any ones guess.

police block the entrance to Whitehall

police keep protesters away rom Whitehall

protesters running past cops

No weekend in London could be complete without an appearance from the middle-class scum who are currently squatting at St Pauls. Sat was no exception. Despite the Occupy LSX Twitterati boasting the the police had warned them that any attempt to march on Parliament would be stopped, they decided, keeping in the spirit of the spoiled kid, to go ahead and do it any way. They arrived at the junction of Whitehall and Trafalgar Square only to be met with a hastily arranged police block consisting of lines of cops and a solid line of vans. The cops were not in riot gear and to be honest, seemed surprised to see the protesters, despite the march having a police escort. A few of the Occupy mob tried to break through the police line. However, like everything they do, it was at best a halfhearted attempt at big boys games. They soon marched away, leading the police on a walk around, as the protesters tried to read the directions to Parliament on their Blackberrys. When the mob were passing the Queen Elizabeth Conf Centre, things took an ugly turn as a cop ended up on the ground. It was unclear what caused this, but the officer was quickly on his/her feet again. This was a potential flash point. I think the only reason there were not arrests at this point were due to lack of cops at the scene. Eventually, the police let them get as far as the front of the house of Lords. Clearly suffering from malnutrition, the exhausted protesters had to have a sit down in the road and gather their strength. By this time I was thoroughly bored. I weakened and had a wee bit of a fag. It tasted vile and I put it out as quickly as I lit it. The protesters went back to their tents/5 bedroom detached pile in Dorking.

For most of us, the word 'pew' means a seat, perhaps in a church. Thanks to the protesters at St Pauls, 'pew' is now the sound most likely to be heard from a visitor when he/she smells the human excrement inside the cathedral. Not from the toilets though, the protesters, manky fuckers, are using the place to crap in the corners when they cant get to Starbucks. I mean, imagine the mess, they live on lentils FFS. The excuse put forward is that the camp draws the homeless and mentally ill like moths to a flame, even to the extent where the protesters have had to supply the homeless with their own tent. They claim it is these people who shit inside one of the countries most revered buildings. This was not a one off. This is a regular occurrence. Just as they claim that they have no idea who spray painted '666' alongside the name of some obscure libertarian group and an anarchy symbol, on the wall. In a bizarre twist, one of the 'left' leaning members of St Pauls told media that they were investigating whether the spray painting was done by people jealous of the churches relationship with the protesters. There has been plenty of damage to the cathedral most of which has gone unreported. So, far from being the peaceful society they claim to be they spray paint devil/anarchy signs on a cathedral, use the inner public areas of the cathedral as a toilet, ignore police requests not to march on parliament, attempt to fight with the police and ensure traffic chaos for London, again. It must be time up this week, surely?

Lastly, I would imagine that most people who spend their nights sleeping on the streets of London would beg for a few quid for breakfast/can of special brew. The Occupy LSE have been tweeting for anyone with old laptops or mobile phones to donate them. FFS do these people know no shame. Are they so naive that they don't realise that working class people are very unlikely to have an 'old laptop' or 'old mobile' they are willing to give away. We cant afford to give away valuable electrical equipment.

More photos - www.mitchell-images.com

COMING SOON - Students v The world
COMING SOON - Sudden temporary blindness effects cops guarding poppy burning scum. Public take advantage.

Cheer up everyone, it's almost Pims o'clock

2011-10-23T11:40:00.000-07:00

First of all, a word about the young lady in the photograph above. Her wedding went ahead, despite St Paul's cathedral being forced to close due to the hoards of protesters who have 'occupied' the area surrounding the main entrance. She looked wonderful and I hope she enjoyed her day, despite the distractions.

It's raining men, hallelujah

A week has past since the protesters failed to occupy the stock exchange, settling instead for the steps of the cathedral. Plenty of time for the rest of the 99% of the nation the protesters claim to be, to get down there and show their support for the movement. They didn't. The reason they didn't is that the protesters do not represent 99% of anything, let alone the population of the UK. They are a confused bunch, with most representing a eclectic mix of little known protests. We do not live in an Arab country. No-one has self immolated due to high taxes in this country, we might complain a bit, I even heard of someone paying their tax in 1p pieces, but set themselves on fire - no, not in this country. If they want to see what it's like to really suffer at the hands of a govt, they should sod off to somewhere like Libya or China. We have our problems in the UK but lets be honest here, they are nothing compared to those countries whose protests the UK protest movements try to emulate.

If there ever was a chance that this protest would cause trouble and therefore hit the headlines, it was Saturday. The Dale Farm activists are now without a cause. The East End was hosting an Anarchist book fair which regularly draws crowds of 1000 or so. There were two other demonstrations going on in London on the same day. In other words, there were lots of left wingers in London on Saturday. Why did they not come to support the occupy St Paul's cause? There were one or two 'faces' but they seemed to be on their own. The smart money is on the thought that the 'occupy' movement is just too soft and cuddly. The trouble makers will be saving themselves for the two big protests in the coming month. No point in getting lifted with the 'cuddlies' and having bail restrictions that stop them taking part in the big demos is there? More on this point later.

Cuddly and naive

The naivety of the occupy protesters is breathtaking. This is seen time and time again. An example of this was demonstrated in Starbucks. I was sitting filing some shots on my laptop I was wearing a press card around my neck. No one could mistake me for anything other than a photographer. Despite this, three members of the camp came and sat at the table behind me. They were fuming. It seemed that one of their number had done a runner with £105 of their [the protests] money. No one knew who he was, or why he had been trusted with the money. They continued on the theme of protests and 'things'. Lets just say that what they were talking about should not have been said in a public situation, especially not within earshot of the press. What they said was noted and some of it will provide an opportunity for me to steal a yard or two on the competition during the coming weeks - providing they don't have the same conversation with one of the undercover cops currently plying their trade in the St Paul's community!

The occupy mob are an easy target when it comes to ridicule. I am as guilty as anyone. My posts have been littered with comments about lentils, veggies, tofu, etc, etc. Hey ho, that's life eh? The following is a true recollection of a conversation overheard, again in Starbucks, but earlier in the morning and in the queue. There were four of them. Two guys and two girls. It seemed that they had been on the piss the night before. There body language marked them as a pair of couples. They looked a mess. The conversation went like this -

1st male - Ah man, I feel like shit dude
2nd male - Yeah me too. God I need a coffee
1st Female - I'm going to have a cold drink
2nd Female - So am I. A nice cold fresh orange
1st Female - Shrieks and jumps up and down excitedly, OOOhhh know what I fancy? a big jug of cold Pimms with loads of fruit and ice, mmmmm.

Kinda says it all doesn't it?

The protesters had tweeted that they were going to march around the financial area. The arrival of the samba band (yeah, them again) signalled that perhaps the march was to be soon. Despite heavy traffic, around 3/400 of the crowd just marched and danced onto the road and away from St Paul's, led by the samba band. Cops were running about trying to get into position. It seemed despite the twitter warning of the intended march, they had been caught on the hop (again). Don't they have intel watching twitter? Or instead of working on actual situations, were they sitting in an office somewhere filling in mountains of paperwork relating to whatever the out of touch, shiny arsed, high ranking, never seen an angry man, office dwellers have decided is a good idea. During the day there was only a token police presence at St Paul's. There were others in vans parked around the area, but the march was well underway before perhaps 7/8 vans managed to catch the march and could only tag along at the back. Mind you, perhaps there were not enough on duty. Cuts don't just affect the great unwashed.

The march shouts at Top Shop

They marched towards the Bank of England but turned left just before they arrived there. Approx a mile later and they suddenly rushed onto Finsbury Square. There were already four or five tents pitched and a huge protest tripod set up. So there it was - the occupy mob had occupied another square in London. The cops could only look on as more tents were pitched.

I keep calling the protesters 'Occupy St Paul's, or Occupy LSX', well from now on I'm going to refer to them by the name they are more commonly known by 'UK Uncut'. Yes, that's right, the same mob who last year regularly trashed Top Shop, among a host of what they perceived as targets. They seem to have been re-born though. During the march from St Paul's to Finsbury Sq, the march went right past the doors of a huge branch of Top Shop. I braced myself for the paint bombs and smashed windows that normally happen. However, aside from a few choruses of 'pay your tax', there were no incidents at Top Shop. There was not an anarchist flag in sight. There were no people with their faces covered. Perhaps the rumours of a leadership split in UK Uncut are true. What could cause a split? UK Uncut have been happy to work hand in glove with the anarchists in the past? Could it perhaps be that a well known union has decided to 'donate' some funds, drawn from the subs paid by their hard working members? Could it be that the same union could not afford to be associated with anarchists and violence, not now, not with a campaign to disrupt the Olympics underway? Time will tell!

More photographs from the day are available at www.mitchell-images.com

He's not the messiah - he's a very naughty boy!

2011-10-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

The water cannon lumbered forward, engine screaming, it's exhausts sending plumes of black diesel fumes into the night sky, its bulk appearing like a Jurassic monster in front of the baying protesters. Suddenly and without warning, the cannon opened up, powerful jets of freezing, stinking water bowled the front rows of protesters off their feet. Meanwhile clouds of tear-gas drifted around the area. The protesters coughed and wheezed, tears streamed down their faces. Their makeshift face coverings no match for the chemical crowd dispersant. This was the scene at the anti bank protest. People were angry that some other people were making more money than them. ' It's just not fair ' some of them yelled. Helmeted police snatch squads emerged from gaps that suddenly appeared in the impenetrable wall of riot shields. They were picking off the ringleaders, dragging them behind police lines and off to the nick.

Reading some of the descriptions that appeared on Twitter last night, one could be excused for thinking the above paragraph related to the Occupy London protest at St Paul's Cathedral. Needless to say, it does not.

While cities like Rome managed to get an estimated 200,000 demonstrators on the streets, the London leg of the anti-bank protests was like most UK protests these days, something of a damp squib. At most 1000 of the usual suspects made their way to St Paul's where they planned to occupy the London Stock Exchange. Ha, like that was ever going to happen. Ok plan two for the angry protesters was to go and sit down on the steps of a big church around the corner.

While they were sitting down on the steps of the big church, Julian Assange appeared, as if from a puff of holy smoke. The crowd were instantly whipped into a frenzy. He made his way to the heart of the demo where there was a microphone and speakers set up. It truly was like a scene from 'The Life of Brian' He said something and the protesters repeated it in a series of chants. The arrogant swine even threw handfuls of sweets into the crowd in a Jesus feeding the masses moment. I spoke to a saggy titted, baggy jumper wearing legal observer who was upset because Assange had a posse of what to him at least, were attractive girls in tow. The thought that they might be setting up a' kiss and tell' did cross my mind. I think the legal observer may have been a lesbian. I pointed out that one of Assanges' 'Babes' was ok looking, in reply the legal observer muttered something and walked off, yelping in pain as she inadvertently stepped on one of her low slung nipples on the way.

Handily, there was a Starbucks next to the big church. Coffee and free wi-fi is always a bonus. I was in the queue for a coffee and it was not moving. The reason for the delay was someone demanding that their tasty beverage be served in a non branded take-away cup, presumably so his comrades outside would not criticise him for wasting his student grant in a capitalist establishment. A swift word or two and he decided to accept the 'normal' cup.

In general, apart from the Jody McIntyre incident,there is nothing much to tell. The protesters were sober and cold so they stayed quiet. The police were firm but fair, they moved the protesters a few times and there were no confrontations during the moves. Quite why there were so many reports of police brutality being posted on Twitter last night is probably down to the hysterics of some less experienced protesters.

As night fell things got really boring. That fecking samba band had turned up again and once I had danced myself to a standstill, I decided to call my driver to come and collect me. Cheeky sod told me he was just having dinner with his family. 'And?' I replied. He forgets sometimes that if it were not for me he would still be begging for loose change and flogging his arse in Piccadilly Circus, degree in quantum physics or not! Within the hour I was back in cassa de mitchell. As I sipped my glass of 12 year old single malt and Mrs Mitchell busied herself preparing my supper, I thought about the day. One of my Assange shots was already in the next days papers. But what of the protesters on the steps of the big church? I decided that didn't give a shit!

Jody McIntyre at it again

2011-10-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ok before I start I need to tell you something. I regularly blog on McIntyre. It is never pleasant stuff because he is a cretin. Before anyone jumps on the offended bus and accuses me of picking on a cripple I will say this - both of my step children have disabilities to the point where they receive disabled living allowance. I do not pick on the disabled. I despise the way that he uses his disability to garner sympathy in these situations. Jody McIntyre is a nasty piece of work who instigates trouble. I have seen him do this time and time again.

Tonight at St Paul's was no exception. He and his brother again appeared behind police lines and tried to get through to the protesters. He was stopped from doing this and proceeded to start shouting at the cops. The police were very patient with him but he continued to rant, gesturing at the crowd a few metres away. The crowd began to get on his side and started shouting at the police. Things rapidly escalated to the point where police had to arrest someone from the crowd. The guy who was being arrested was not happy and fought back against the police. The end result of this was 7/8 officers pinning the guy down until he was calm enough to be taken away.

While this was going on, McIntyre and his brother were egging the crowd on. McIntyre got up out of his chair and was stopped from going to where the arrest was taking place.

When things calmed down, McIntyre and brother were still behind police lines. Officers had cleared everyone, including press away from the area. Everyone apart from McIntyre and his brother that is. The OB were clearly unsure how to treat him and he knew it. He stayed in the no-mans land for a while before moving away when he felt like it. He moved only as far as the other side of the protest where he again caused a confrontation with cops.

A selection of shots showing the situation in detail is available at www.mitchell-images.com

I will post a longer post dealing with day in general on Sunday.

Protests - here we go again

2011-10-14T03:30:00.000-07:00

It seems that the lead up to Christmas is going to see more mass protests on the streets of London and beyond. There are several high profile events due to take place in the coming weeks. More on those later.

I covered three protests in the last weekend. Sat saw the EDL demonstrate in London. This as usual descended into football style chants and a heavy police presence. I saw no arrests. One anomaly was when the EDL handed a letter into 10 Downing St. When the delegation entered the gates of Downing St, no press were allowed to accompany them to record the event. After this and a bit more chanting, the EDL were escorted down to the Millbank area and dispersed onto coaches.

protesters at Downing St

The big event of the day was the 'Stop the War' organised, 10th anniversary of the Afghan war demo in Trafalgar Square. The event had been publicised well in advance and there was a huge crowd expected. In the event, the huge crowd did not materialise. Perhaps 3000 at most stood in Trafalgar Square listening to speeches. Gone are the days when anti- Afghan protests drew thousands of angry Muslim youths. Saturdays demo consisted mainly of white middle-aged people.

At 4pm those still gathered in the square began the march to Downing St. Despite a large police presence, the marchers still managed to block both lanes of Whitehall for a few hours. Why did this happen? Well one reason is that once the EDL demo had ended in the morning, contractors took away the barriers that are used to facilitate protesters at Downing St. Result - several hundred Anti-War protesters allowed to cause chaos for London traffic. Well done to the top cop responsible for that one!

There were a couple of arrests that I saw. One of those arrested took it for what it was and walked to the waiting police van, the other decided he wanted a bit more attention from his fellow 'protesters' and refused to go in the van. Needless to say, he did go in eventually - after a bit of persuasion!

Shame on you!!!

During the arrests the crowd started the usual chant of 'Shame on you' at the police. one of the more vocal chanters who had pure venom in her face as she chanted, suddenly felt unwell. Who did she turn to? did she call an ambulance? Did her fellow protesters rally round and help her? No, the people who helped her were the police - the same ones she had just been venting her spleen at. They just don't do irony these people, do they?

Westminster Bridge & St Thomas'Hosp

Sunday was the UK Uncut organised 'Block the Bridge, Block the Bill' protest on Westminster Bridge. The idea being that by Blocking Westminster Bridge, which runs between St Thomas' Hospital and Parliament was symbolic. It struck me as dangerous. Westminster Bridge in the main route for ambulances from north of the river into St Thomas' Hosp. Ok, Lambeth bridge is just along the river but any delay in getting a seriously ill patient to hosp can be fatal. This whole debacle was allowed to happen by the police who authorised the road closure. As is always on the cards with any protest organised by UK Uncut, a breakaway group of anarchists left the main protest. They made their way along to Lambeth Bridge were they were held in a kettle for a wee while. Again, more traffic disruption. More danger to patients in ambulances heading to hosp.

Scary anarchists

There were four distinct demographics at the Bridge protest. Firstly there were the NHS staff. They carried placards and banners relative to the NHS cuts. Secondly there were the UK Uncut mob, they as usual carried all manner of placards and banners complaining about everything from tax avoidance to global warming. Then there were the anarchists. Red and black flags, faces covered by masks. They had no placards or banners. Just flags. Lastly there were the tourists.  They seemed to outnumber the other three put together. It seemed that the NHS contingent left after a making their point. The tourists came and went - the bridge was still open to pedestrians. The thing is, what was billed as a protest against proposed changes to the NHS had become something else. One speech I heard involved planning for the attempt to occupy the London Stock Exchange. Nothing to do with the NHS. Like in March this year when they hi- jacked the Union march in London, it seems that the UK Uncut are back to cause trouble where they can. Those who make up the group must be aware that as a group they bring nothing to the table. They take any legitimacy away from genuine protesters by their violent behaviour. It is a fact that wherever UK Uncut are protesting, they are accompanied by anarchists and troublemakers.  While there are undoubtedly those with a genuine  wish for change in the organisation, there seem to be more only interested in causing trouble.

There seemed to be a bit of confusion among the police on duty at the exit points from the bridge as to what constitutes a genuine member of the press and whether they were allowed to leave the area. This has been a long time coming. At every demo there are dozens of people with cameras wandering about in the no-mans land between the police lines and the protesters, snapping away.  I would estimate that 75% of them are not press.  The line gets blurred when checks are not carried out. I hate the feckers. They cost every member of the press money by selling what shots they get for next to nothing or even giving them away for nothing more more than the chance to see their name in the newspaper. They get in the way of both genuine press and the police. They cause friction between the police and the genuine press as they don't know how to behave in these situations. It's about time the OB started getting shot of these halfwits. Press cards are not easy to come by. Those without one wont be press. Rant over!!

The next month is going to be a busy one. The students are back out on the streets on Nov 9th for a national protest in London. Nov 30 sees nationwide public sector strikes and another huge march in London. This weekend coming marks the start of the Occupy London Stock Exchange protests which has in just one week, gained 9000 followers on the facebook event page and is expected to run for weeks, gaining momentum as it goes. Add to these the already active, but little reported, demonstrations by construction workers and what emerges is a scene that could put this years public disorder in the shade.

The Mets new commissioner Bernard Hogan- Howe is facing something of a baptism by fire. The question is - will his tactics be the same as his predecessor, or will he be more pro-active and stop the damage to person and property before it starts?

When the dust settles will he still be known as Bernard Hogan-Howe, or, will it be Bernard Haagen- Dazs, the man who  melted when things got hot?

More images from these events are available at www.mitchell-images.com