Heathrow puts up legal barricades to keep away protesters

[Celefin]

Source: The Independent

Five million people in peaceful environmental organisations such as the National Trust and the RSPB have become the subject of an extraordinary legal attempt to limit their right to protest.

In legal documents seen by The Independent, the British Airports Authority has begun moves that would allow police to arrest members of 15 environmental groups to prevent them taking part in demonstrations against airport expansion.

While the threat of terrorism and consequent security checks have been dominating the headlines during the start of the summer holidays, BAA has been planning a pre-emptive strike against environmentalists.

Next week, in response to a demonstration due to be held outside Heathrow airport, BAA will go to the High Court to seek judicial approval for an anti-environmentalist injunction, the terms of which are so wide they have provoked astonishment among the green movement. Any one of five million people in groups such as the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England could be arrested for travelling on the London Underground or possessing a kite.



Read more: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article2809171.ece

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Half the country is still underwater with clear signs that the floodings
are linked to global warming... and BAA wants to label you a 'security threat'
if you are member of the National Trust, RSPB or other organisation.

This country is officially mad.

Read the article, ist's just astonishing.

[Newscounter]

1. BAA has responded

BAA has responded to the report to clarify its position. You can judge whether the response is convincing here: http://newscounter.com/fullStory.jsp?id=709585

[Celefin]

4. This sounds familiar

"We have proposed a number of sites at the airport for purposes of
a lawful and peaceful protest, for discussion at the injunction hearing."

I may be wrong, but this sounds like free speech zones.
The point is that they want to be able to arrest you
if you are a member of said organizations and
could possibly be on your way to protest 'irresponsibly',
however you would define that.

Just a thought, maybe a bit drastic:
This places about 10% of the UK's population on list of
people guilty of thought crimes.

The injunction sought is NOT limited to the 14-21st of
August but would be put in place indefinitely (if The
Independent has that right).

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

2. If I were them, I would be more afraid of the travelling public than the law,

When the British public is inconvenienced by protestors members of the public will usually beat them down all by themselves. If they were to try blocking the roads into Heathrow, men would just get out of their cars and beat them senseless. The hooligan streak runs deep.

My most enduring memory of Jolly Ol' England was being in a resturant that was crashed by anti-meat protestors, a more than a dozen guys including a bunch of diners got up from their meals and threw the protestors into the street with significant violence, that included breaking a camcorder over a guys head and this was no honkey-tonk it was a really fancy resturant.

it is like every British male has a soccer hooligan inside ready to break-out at a moments notice.

[saigon68]

5. soccer hooligan

Those guys should join Blair's brigades and kill a few shiites for the chimp

[Solo_in_MD]

6. Mixed feeling about that

when happy slapping was the rage amoung the yobs, impromptu defensive action turned the tide more than police

[truebrit71]

7. Generalize much?

Wow...that's a pretty big brush you have there...:eyes:

Or perhaps I should just kick your teef in? :sarcasm:

[pschoeb]

8. Well I wouldn't compare a tiny protest against meat, the kind of protest

That would be pretty unpopular in England, with one protesting Airport Expansion, where many people surrounding the airport are also against expansion. Usually there is a small contingent of Crusties at any environmental protest, I wouldn't want to fuck with them. I'm not sure how a Crustie vs. violent Heathrow Flyer would go, but I would but my money on the Crustie. Also the locals surrounding the airport from Hounslow, Hayes, and Harlington, at minimum, don't seem to be keen on the expansion.

[LeftyMom]

3. They got away with it at Oxford.

Erosion of civil liberties starts with groups on the fringes and works it's way across society. And again a safety argument is made when really it's about not annoying or inconveniencing important people.