Julie Wassmer (right) at Saturday’s London march
Why Suella Braverman must be held to account
by
Last Saturday 11th November, my friend, Leigh Derbyshire and I joined the London march to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Throughout the 4 hours we spent protesting against the unacceptable loss of Palestinian lives due to the continued bombardment by Israeli forces, we also discussed the decision of Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Force, to resist pressure from the then Home Secretary, Suella Braverman MP, not to allow the march to go ahead.
We decided we would write to Sir Mark Rowley to thank him for choosing not to ban the march—a decision that was vindicated by the fact that the march remained peaceful in spite of the huge numbers of people who joined it. The BBC and Metropolitan Police estimated those numbers at 300,000. Many others considered that to be a vast underestimation.
The following is a letter we sent today to Sir Mark Rowley which also includes information about attacks that took place by right wing elements at the Cenotaph—violence that was wholly unconnected to the London march calling for peace in Gaza. The nephew of my Jewish friend, Katy Colley, who had attended the peace march with her family, was attacked by those same right wing elements, for which we believe Suella Braverman should be held to account—even though she has now been sacked as Home Secretary by Rishi Sunak.
We therefore included notice to Braverman in separate correspondence sent to her this evening.
Both letters follow directly here:
Sir Mark Rowley QPM,
Commissioner,
New Scotland Yard,
Victoria Embankment,
London SW1A 2JL
cc: suella.braverman.mp@parliament.uk
14th November 2023
Dear Sir Mark,
We write to thank you for showing good judgement in allowing the London march to go ahead on Saturday 11th November, in spite of attacks made by the former Home Secretary, Suella Braverman MP, accusing the Metropolitan Police Force of political bias and calling into question citizens’ right to freedom of expression—and protest.
Whilst we are aware of your own statement that the intelligence concerning the scale of potential trouble fell short of the high threshold the law demands for a ban, clearly your experience of having policed previous peaceful London marches, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, must also have informed your decision. As we can attest, the march went ahead peacefully although attended by at least 300,000 people. You were vindicated, but your stand required courage—which we appreciate.
Conversely, Ms Braverman’s incendiary statements clearly only served to stoke division and although she has now been sacked from her position, we feel we must point out to you that, at 70 and 68 years old respectively, we never once felt unsafe throughout the march. However, the nephew of a friend, Katy Colley (who is Jewish and had attended the peaceful London march with her family) was set on by right wing thugs on his way home at Lambeth Bridge, punched and called “Scum” for wearing a white poppy and a Free Palestine badge.
Katy personally considers that Suella Braverman’s statements incited such attacks from right wing element who, as you know, arrived to cause trouble at the Cenotaph—more than 2 ½ miles from our march calling for peace. In Katy’s words, “Braverman had identified peaceful marchers as their targets and invited them to do their worst. Consequently, innocent people like my nephew were set upon and attacked in what can only be described as ‘hate crimes’.” Katy then reminds us that “incitement is a crime”.
Katy will be writing to you to ask how many such attacks took place on Saturday 11th November on innocent people protesting for peace. We hope you will reply to her.
Yours sincerely,
Julie Wassmer and Leigh Derbyshire.
Suella Braverman MP
House of Commons,
London SW1A 0AA
suella.braverman.mp@parliament.uk
14th November 2023
Dear Suella Braverman,
We have today copied you in to a letter we sent to Sir Mark Rowley, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, thanking him for his good judgement in allowing the London march to go ahead on Saturday 11th November in spite of the statements made by you accusing the Metropolitan Police Force of political bias and calling into question UK citizens’ right to freedom of expression—and protest.
Although you have now been sacked by the Prime Minister as Home Secretary, we would like you to know that at 70 and 68 years old respectively, we never once felt unsafe throughout the march, but the nephew of a friend, Katy Colley (who is Jewish and had attended the peaceful London march with her family) was set on by right wing thugs on his way home at Lambeth Bridge, punched and called “Scum” for wearing a white poppy and a Free Palestine badge.
Katy personally considers that your incendiary statements served to incite such attacks from right wing elements. In Katy’s words, “Braverman had identified peaceful marchers as their targets and invited them to do their worst. Consequently, innocent people like my nephew were set upon and attacked in what can only be described as ‘hate crimes’.” Katy then reminds us that “incitement is a crime”.
Katy will be contacting Sir Mark Rowley to ask how many such attacks took place on Saturday 11th November on innocent people protesting for peace. We hope you take careful note and we also hope you never gain a position of political power ever again.
Yours sincerely,
Julie Wassmer and Leigh Derbyshire.
ABOUT:
Julie Wassmer is a Whitstable-based author, TV writer and environmental campaigner.
She has successfully fought a number of environmental issues, including fracking in Kent and tree clearances by Network Rail. Her Whitstable Pearl crime novels are now a major TV series, starring Kerry Godliman.
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As an old, working class, white bloke brought up in the 50s and 60s to both fear and hold in contempt “The Filth”, I sometimes catch myself wondering whether the police are now becoming the desperately needed moral consciousness of the UK. Thankfully, the wonderment is merely passing.
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