Free Tommy Robinson Police imposed conditions

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has imposed conditions upon a rally being held by supporters of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon dubbed ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ on Saturday, 3 August. The MPS has also imposed conditions on a counter rally being organised by groups including ‘Stop Tommy Robinson’ and ‘Stand up to Racism’ on the same day. Conditions have been imposed under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 on the assembly by ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ as follows: Notice under Section 14(3): Conditions as to location of assembly: 1. Any assembly by members/supporters of the ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ event must take place in Langham Place, London W1B south of All Souls Road, as defined on the map and in the area marked by barriers and directed by police.   Conditions as to maximum duration of the assembly: 2. Any assembly may only take place between 12:00pm  and 3pm Conditions have also been imposed under Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 on a planned counter rally by ‘Stop Tommy Robinson’, ‘Stand up to Racism’ and associated groups as follows: Notice under Section 14(3): Conditions as to location of assembly:   1. Any assembly by members/supporters of ‘Stop Tommy Robinson’, ‘Stand up to Racism’ and associated groups must take place in Portland Place, W1B north of 5 Portland Place, as defined on the attached map and in the area marked by barriers and directed by police. 2. Not to assemble in any other location to prevent the ‘Free Tommy Robinson’ event taking place. Conditions as to maximum duration of the assembly: 3. Any assembly may only take place between 12:30am and 14:30pm   Commander Kyle Gordon, Gold Commander for the operation, said: “As a police service we must protect the rights of all, including those who wish to protest and those who are impacted by activity like this on a normal Saturday in London. These rights can sometimes cause conflict between participating groups, and as such my overarching consideration is to reduce the potential for violence, disorder or disruption to our communities in order to keep everyone safe. Experience has shown us that protests such as those planned for this weekend can create tension and disorder, not just on the day itself but in the longer term. I have carefully considered how to police these events whilst managing the impact on our communities. “Having taken all of this into consideration I have made an operational decision to implement conditions based on the information available to me at this time. “If you wish to protest on Saturday, I ask that you do so lawfully and within the restrictions set out above, no matter what your view. Anyone breaching these conditions will be liable to arrest and prosecution. I have a full policing operation in place and we will be proactive in ensuring any impact on our communities is minimised, while ensuring anyone who is intent on violence is dealt with swiftly and robustly.”