My sign at the #KillTheBill May Day protest in London (Photo by Joe Kibria).
'Blue bib' cops at protests are there to gather intelligence on protesters which the police then use against protest movements.
The Police monitoring organisation Netpol found evidence from FOI requests that 'Police Liaison Officers' at protests are trained in intelligence gathering, and information they acquired through friendly chats at protests has been later used in prosecutions against peaceful protesters.
The nationwide protests were about the dystopian police powers in the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill currently being pushed by the government. It would outlaw any protest which caused 'serious annoyance', i.e every protest worth its salt, would expand attacks on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and increase already misused stop and search powers.
Photo: Lucy Brisbane
This photo looks like we're talking but I was just waiting for him to finish asking his question before I tapped the sign again. (Photo by: Yushy)
