The long read: More people have been imprisoned for rioting during a single day in Bristol in 2021 than in any other protest-related disorder since at least the 1980s. What was behind this push to prosecute so harshly?
The Mail Online covered the story with the headline: “A terrifying vision of lawless Britain.” Avon and Somerset’s then chief constable, Andy Marsh, claimed that the protest had been “hijacked by extremists” determined to “assault our officers”.
Many of the women’s rights and BLM activists who had been involved in organising the Everard vigil on Clapham Common called for a new round of protests, this time against the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill.
In the first trial, a 25-year-old man from the local travelling community, Ryan Roberts, received a 14-year sentence for riot and attempted arson after the court was played a 34-minute video showing him throwing bottles and cans, smashing a window and pushing burning pieces of cardboard under an occupied police vehicle.
DC Perry, who reviewed much of the footage as part of Riccio’s team, told me: “On the face of it you think ‘poor girl’, but there were elements of her behaviour …[where] it still hits the mould of affray, violent disorder and riot.”
(After the MPs’ report was published, Avon and Somerset police claimed that allegations of disproportionate force had been fully investigated by its own professional standards department and said it was confident officers had acted appropriately.)
Later that month, UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, persuaded police chiefs to sign up to a protocol restricting protests outside MPs’ homes, party offices, parliament and town halls.
The original article contains 5,932 words, the summary contains 231 words. Saved 96%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Mail Online covered the story with the headline: “A terrifying vision of lawless Britain.” Avon and Somerset’s then chief constable, Andy Marsh, claimed that the protest had been “hijacked by extremists” determined to “assault our officers”.
Many of the women’s rights and BLM activists who had been involved in organising the Everard vigil on Clapham Common called for a new round of protests, this time against the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill.
In the first trial, a 25-year-old man from the local travelling community, Ryan Roberts, received a 14-year sentence for riot and attempted arson after the court was played a 34-minute video showing him throwing bottles and cans, smashing a window and pushing burning pieces of cardboard under an occupied police vehicle.
DC Perry, who reviewed much of the footage as part of Riccio’s team, told me: “On the face of it you think ‘poor girl’, but there were elements of her behaviour …[where] it still hits the mould of affray, violent disorder and riot.”
(After the MPs’ report was published, Avon and Somerset police claimed that allegations of disproportionate force had been fully investigated by its own professional standards department and said it was confident officers had acted appropriately.)
Later that month, UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, persuaded police chiefs to sign up to a protocol restricting protests outside MPs’ homes, party offices, parliament and town halls.
The original article contains 5,932 words, the summary contains 231 words. Saved 96%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!