Quakers Call for Restored Rights After Police Raid on Westminster Meeting House

Quakers in Britain have called for the restoration of rights after police raided the Westminster Meeting House, a Quaker meeting house, last Thursday. The organisation described the raid as a massively disproportionate response to legitimate concerns held by UK citizens.

According to the Quaker statement, a force of 20 officers broke open the door without warning and arrested six young people who had hired a room to discuss climate change and peace in Gaza.

Quakers said they had since been overwhelmed by messages of support. These came from other faiths, who were horrified at what they called a violation of a place of worship, and from people around the world and members of the public, who the statement said saw the event as appalling police overreach.

Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship for Quakers in Britain, said: “This raid is not an isolated incident. It reflects a growing trend of excessive policing under new laws brought in by the previous government, which are now being enforced by the current administration.”

The statement says the right to protest has been severely restricted since the introduction of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023. It argues that vague and sweeping definitions mean that even discussing peaceful protest can be criminalised. Quakers said the issue went beyond police conduct to laws that, in their view, undermine democracy itself, and that people must be able to assemble and speak out even when their views challenge those in power. Robertson said: “This is about the kind of country, the kind of world, we want to live in. Quakers believe that all people are equal, and for that to be a reality, we need laws that enable participation rather than suppress it.”

Quakers called on the government to repeal these restrictive laws and protect the right to protest. The statement said that in a diverse society, dissenting voices need to be heard with respect, and that forcibly preventing them from being heard, through law or police action, is not democratic. It added: “People talking and peacefully demonstrating is not a threat to society; but stopping them is.” Fairness in public life requires that all voices be heard (Proverbs 18:17).

A silent Quaker Meeting is to be held outside New Scotland Yard on Victoria Embankment from 12 to 1pm on Thursday, 3 April. Baroness Jenny Jones and others are expected to attend, and the public is welcome.

Source: Read the original report