Helen Duffett

Video: Sarah Ludford MEP at Mass Photo Gathering

By | Sun 24th January 2010 - 7:50 am

Campaign group I’m a photographer not a terrorist held a Mass Photo Gathering in Trafalgar Square yesterday, in defence of street photography. Thousands of photographers came together to assert their rights and to protest against the misuse of Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Section 44 allows uniformed police officers to stop and search people in designated areas if it is considered “expedient for the prevention of acts of terrorism.” I met Grant Smith, who was stopped under Section 44 by police in December. Sarah Ludford, Lib Dem MEP for London, had written a letter to the Independent in protest at his treatment.

I spoke to Sarah and Grant about the incident:


Video also available on YouTube.

The Trafalgar Square gathering was relaxed and friendly – the only visible police presence was that of a Police Community Support Officer who spoke rather shortly to one woman for parking her bicycle where it wasn’t permitted. This drew disapproving murmurs from the surrounding crowd and indignance from the owner of the bike.

Since photographers generally work individually, it was particularly striking to see them come together in such large numbers. The event had been billed as a gathering, rather than a protest. Speeches and chanting were replaced by animated chat as people compared cameras. There was laughter as “Vigilance Committee Officers” went around making mock arrests, and a small dog was spotted wearing a jacket which said, “I am a dog, not a terrorist.”

Read the Guardian’s account here.

Read more by or more about , , , , or .
This entry was posted in Events.
Advert

2 Comments

  • Kevin 24th Jan '10 - 9:47am

    What, the police weren’t photographing these subversives then?.

  • Dave Page 24th Jan '10 - 12:35pm

    Kevin, with so many photographers there, how do you know which of them were plainsclothed police? 😉

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Nick Baird
    @Chloe - "It’s a wonder the country didn’t come to a standstill prior to 2019" Not really. We had higher net immigration throughout most of the 2010s th...
  • expats
    Andy Daer 3rd Aug '26 - 9:08am..We’re already hearing that Israel wants to see every single weapon gone from Gaza before it takes the first step in its side o...
  • Chloe
    It's a wonder the country didn't come to a standstill prior to 2019. Nobody to work in hospitals, dispense medicine, serve tea and scones, and wash cars. We hav...
  • Andy Daer
    We’re already hearing that Israel wants to see every single weapon gone from Gaza before it takes the first step in its side of the deal, and withdraws it’s...
  • paul barker
    The Population of London has gone up by Half since the 1990s, did anyone vote for that ? Large parts of London are now dominated by huge tower blocks, did anyon...