London Pride: I think the Pride March on Saturday 3rd July 2004 was around the 12th Pride I had photographed and I was certainly beginning to feel it had lost the edge it had in the earlier years. It’s now some years since I bothered to apply for accreditation to cover the annual event, and didn’t bother to apply for one of the armbands my union were offering. It’s perhaps ten years since I last went.
I used to enjoy photographing the annual event, and you can see many of my pictures from those years on the Internet Archive and in the Café Royal Books publication ‘Pride Not Profit – London 1993–2000‘. I had a small show of some of the work at the Museum of London and a larger selection was projected as part of the Museum’s travelling show ‘Queer is Here‘ which began with a Museum showing in 2006. You can see the full set from this show online at Ten Years of Pride.
For the last few years I’ve intended to go to Soho to cover the buzz there after the march, but somehow I’ve always found other things to do. But perhaps I’ll be there tomorrow, if only to meet up with some old friends and have a drink together.
Anyway, here is what I wrote back in 2004 and some of the pictures I took on the march from Hyde Park. For some reason I can’t now remember I left the march to go to Paternoster Square close to St Paul’s Cathedral and took a few pictures of the buildings there before returning to the Pride Festival in Trafalgar Square.
London Pride
Pride is certainly not what it used to be. It’s lost the edge which came from protest and is now simply a parade, recognised by Ken [Livingstone, Mayor of London] and the police.
Good time people out for a good time rather than a crusade for a cause, although there were still a few banners on display against remaining areas of discrimination.
This years event also seemed rather small, considerably less than the press estimates before the event, although quite a few more came to the rally in Trafalgar Square.
The event stewards took a dim view of people getting in the fountains, but the two women at right entertained the crowd a little, as well as keeping some of us photographers amused. “Oh God”, said one of them, “My mum will see these pictures”. The pose here is right out of a Donald McGill postcard, but I’ll leave the punch line to you..
I don’t know how long they stayed, as the speeches were platitudinous beyond belief. Ken welcomed us to his square in one of the better attempts, and generally received an enthusiastic response, although there were quite a few voices of dissent and more who were taking very little interest.
Here are a few pictures here which I didn’t upload in 2004:
Heathrow, Pendragon & Brexit: On Saturday 23 June 2018 I went to Parliament Square where campaigners against the expansion of Heathrow Airport were holding a rally. While there I also saw a small group of the right-wing fringe activist, the Arthur Pendragons, try without success to deliver letters to Parliament. Later I met a march of around a hundred thousand who had marched to a rally which more than filled Parliament Square calling for a People’s vote before we finally left Europe.
Vote No to Disastrous Heathrow Expansion
‘Boris’ looks worried by the 3rd runway – and he invented a trip to Afghanistan to avoid the vote
This protest took place on the Saturday before Parliament was to vote on the expansion of Heathrow on Monday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson who when London Mayor had promised he would lie down in front of the bulldozers to stop the development had conveniently arranged to be out of the country for the vote.
The building of a new runway and associated works would cause years of disruption and even when completed would significantly increase traffic congestion and increased pollution across a wide area around Heathrow as well as under the flight path in a city with already dangerous and often illegal levels of pollution.
Some of those taking part had been on hunger strike for 14 days outside the Labour Party HQ
More importantly it would add to the the already growing threat of irreversible climate breakdown that could threaten the future of human life on the earth.
They stated a vote for the third runway is ‘Voting for Climate Genocide’
The estimates for the contribution to jobs and the economy by a third runway made by Heathrow and the government were wildly optimistic and after it was completed increased automation and the use of AI were likely to lead to a decline in local jobs.
As I’ve often pointed out, “Almost any other development likely in the area blighted by the expansion would provide more local jobs, and closing Heathrow altogether for a new town development would provide much greater opportunities.“
It seemed inevitable that the government will win the vote – but still unlikely the runway will be built
Unsurprisingly Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of expansion on Monday 25 June 2018, though the realities of the situation means that it has not happened yet, and many think it unlikely to ever do so.
White Pendragons ‘Independence Day’ letters refused
Parliament Square
Shaun Morris of the Arthur Pendragons argues with police who will not accept their letters
The Arthur Pendragons take their name from the Anglo-Saxon King Arthur (who modern historians doubt ever existed) and their ideas from a misunderstanding of English Common Law, and in particular of the Magna Carta.
They gained a little publicity when they made an unsuccessful attempt at a ‘citizen’s arrest’ on London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan, claiming he should not be Mayor “because he is a Muslim“. Despite this they claim they are open welcome people of all races and religions including the settled immigrant communities. Some of the group were previous supports of racist far-right organisations but they emphasise a non-violent orientation, with their slogan: “No Loss, No Harm, No Injury.”
A woman pushes her letter through the fence around the Houses of Parliament
Their letters stated that they withdrew their support for parliament’s underhand dealings with the EU and demanded the return of all sovereign powers to the individuals and the British people, as well as an end to taxation and other orders and demands. Police at the gates refused to take these letters and in the end they simply pushed them through the railings.
Parliament Square was full and many watched the rally on a giant screen in Whitehall
This was one of London’s larger marches and filled Parliament Square for a rally with an overflow in Whitehall while others were reported to still be waiting to leave Pall Mall.
Many of those on the march had posters or placards saying they had been lied to when they voted for Brexit in 2016, though others had voted remain.
SODEM founder Steven BrayWho needs Airbus when you’ve got Spitfire?’Caroline Lucas among those holding the main banner
But in 2018 opinion polls suggested than almost two thirds of the British people backed having a final vote on Brexit now that we had a better idea of what it would actually mean.
‘Never Gonna Give EU UP’.
And last Saturday, 20th June 2026, ten years after the Brexit referendum some of the same people were marching on the streets of London again, calling for us to rejoin Europe. It was a smaller march than in 2018 but the case for Britain moving back closer to Europe even if not actually rejoining has become very much stronger now years after we have actually left and we see its results. You can see some of my pictures from the 2026 march on Facebook.
End Austerity Now & Class War: On Saturday 20th June 2015 I sent to photograph the march organised by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity from the Bank of England to Parliament Square. Class War came to protest calling for direct action rather than marches which changed nothing and after photographing them in the City I went with them to Downing Street – and they paused for a brief protest at the Savoy on the way.
End Austerity Now at Bank
Bank
Large crowds gathered around the Bank of England for the start of a massive march against austerity organised by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity and supported by many groups including CND, the Green Party, People’s March for the NHS, Global Women’s Strike, Basic Income, Revolutionary Communist Group, Clapton Ultras and many other groups and individuals from around the country.
Clapton Ultras -“Football for all. Good times, good songs and Polish lager. Always antifascist.”
So many were being affected by the cuts which had forced down incomes, cut benefits and the welfare state, cut education, destroyed youth services, made massive cuts to the NHS and public services while supporting the bankers whose actions had led to the crisis.
Austerity is a Con – Westmonster Banksters sponsored by Rothschild
The programme of austerity introduced by the coalition government and continued under the Tories had seriously harmed the country and slowed its recovery from the financial crisis and seemed to be a punishment for the crimes of others, which had been made possible by the changes to the banking system introduced under Thatcher in 1986.
As usual estimates of the number of marchers varied hugely, with the organisers claiming a quarter of a million, while the BBC contented itself with ‘”thousands”. From the time it took and the density of the crowds I think it was at least a hundred thousand. Parliament Square was well filled with others still arriving, but like many others I went home rather than listen to the speeches.
Class War held their banner on a footway overlooking the march
Class War had come to the protest to call for end of A to B marches to rallies and call for direct action. They succeeded in diverting several hundred of the marchers to make their way to protest at a squatted pub near the Elephant which Foxtons want to open as an estate agents.
Class War had brought several banners including the ‘Political Leaders’, a new version of that seized by police at a ‘Poor Doors’ protest, the ‘Lucy Parsons banner with its quote “We must devastate the avenues where the wealthy live” and ‘We have found new homes for the rich‘, with its rows of crosses on graves extending into the distance which police were then still pressing charges against Lisa McKenzie over.
Lisa McKenzieAdam Clifford
Lisa was there along with the others including Adam Clifford who stood for Class War in the Westminster constituency, today wearing a top with fake exposed breasts and holding a fairly lifelike looking baby. As well as those above the protest others protested on the side of the street below.
Many marchers raised fists and shouted in solidarity with Class War as they passed, though some shook their heads, while others tried to ignore them. This wasn’t easy as they made a fair amount of noise and let off several smoke flares.
Around 30 police gathered around them at one point and it looked very much if they were going into action, but after a discussion between several senior officers on the scene, most rapidly walked away.
I stayed in the area either with them above the march or down below on the densely crowded wide street for around an hour, making many pictures both of Class War and the marchers.
They sit in the pub and police wait for them outside
When the end of the march appeared to reach them they joined in for a couple of hundred yards then peeled off to go to the Olde London pub on Ludgate Hill
Class War insist on the right to protest outside the Savoy
After a rest in the pub Class War walked down towards Westminster with their police escort to carry out more protests.
Approaching the Savoy Hotel some broke out into a run to get ahead of their escorts but found that there were more police already waiting there.
But they unrolled their banners again and briefly blocked the entrance with ‘New Homes for the Rich’ and ‘Lucy Parsons’ banners. After minor scuffles and arguments with police they marched on.
A woman talks to Adam Clifford of Class War holding a baby and a banner outside the gates of Downing St
Class War continued their protests in Whitehall, displaying their banners, setting off flares and dancing with others to a sound system which joined them briefly.
They then moved off towards Downing Street where they posed for photographs with all three banners – and threw a flare over the gate.
Their protest continued there with short speeches and more dancing. People were still coming down the street to join the People’s Assembly Against Austerity protest in Parliament Square and some stopped briefly to join in.
Eventually Class War decided it was time to roll up the banners and leave before police intervened – and it was time to go to the pub again. But for me it was time to go home.
Arms Dealers, Dirty Oil and Pay: On Thursday 13th Jun 2013 a protest in the week before the G8 summit in Ireland targeted the offices of arms manufacturers in London. Unlike the previous day the protesters were not harassed and attacked by police and the protest remained peaceful.
Canadian prime minster Stephen Harper had been invited to address Parliament and there was a noisy protest against him over his support of the environmentally disastrous Canadian tar sands as well as a smaller group of Canadian Foreign Service Workers demanding equal pay with other Canadian government employees.
I also briefly photographed the continuing daily vigil calling for the release of Shaker Aamer from Guantanamo which I had written about earlier.
G8 Protest Against Arms Dealers
West End
Anti-G8 protesters continued their protests with a tour of the offices of companies making armaments in Central London. Today their peaceful protest, unlike yesterday’s, was not attacked by police, and there were no arrests.
As well as a group of protesters in black robes with ghost or skull masks and carrying mock scythes and a black banner with the message ‘Think we’re SCARY? You’ll find ‘ARMS DEALERS INSIDE‘, there were others calling attention to UK based arms companies including BAE and EDO and the huge DSEi arms fair held in London’s Docklands.
Some changed into white plastic overalls suitable for a ‘weapons inspection’ as the protest began outside the offices of UK’s largest arms manufacturer BAE in Carlton Gardens. BAE is the third largest arms company in the world and notable for several corruption cases – and they have been fined £48.7m by the US government for braking their military export laws. Speeches here gave brief details about their immoral and sometimes illegal activities.
The protest moved on to give similar performances outside the offices of other arms companies:
Thales, the world’s 11 largest arms company with a wide range of surveillance equipment, drones, armoured vehicles, missiles and more.
Lockheed Martin UK – the British arm of the world’s largest arms producer, making fighters, bombs, nuclear weapons and involved with the CIA and FBI.
Northrop Grumman UK, one of the world’s largest defence contractors and the largest builder of naval vessels
missile developer MBDA
QinetiQ, a major defence contractor which manufactures drones and armed robots used in Afghanistan and Iraq.
They also protested outside Charing Cross Police Station where those arrested at the previous day’s J11 Carnival against Capitalism had been taken.
Canadian PM Stephen Harper was invited to address the UK Parliament as he had a special relationship with UK PM David Cameron, both trying with the support of British Oil companies such as Shell and BP to force the EU to accept oil from the Albertan tar sands. And this protest took place as he spoke.
Canadian campaigners say Harper “has spent the last few years promoting the destructive tar sands industry, eroding Indigenous rights, weakening environmental regulations, muzzling scientists, and helping keep the world fixed on a collision course with runaway climate change by pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol.” They say his “government is currently mired in scandal and sleaze” and ask: “What was the UK thinking in extending this invitation?”
The protest was supported by all the leading environmental groups in the UK, and around a hundred protesters came to chanted in protest as this ‘climate criminal, addressed the UK Parliament shouting slogans including “Don’t say no thank you! Say No Tar!” and “Stephen Harper off our soil; We don’t want your dirty oil!”
A few yards down the road from Parliament Square a much smaller group of protesters had come to greet the Canadian Prime Minister, mainly dressed in suits.
The Professional Association of Foreign Service Workers representing men and women working for the Canadian Government here and around the world had come to demand demanding equal pay for equal work. They say other Canadian government employees doing the exact same jobs as them are paid up to $14,000 a year more.
Cuban 5, Knives & Peace Strike: Saturday 7th June 2008 I photographed a protest following the dismissal of an appeal in Miami by five Cuban men held in the USA since 1998, a Seventh Day Adventist Church march against knife crime and a rally by the Peace Strike camped in Parliament Square.
Release the Cuban 5
Trafalgar Square
The Cuban 5 were Cuban intelligence officers who came to Miami to spy and infiltrate on the Cuban exile community after terrorist bombings by Cuban exiles had taken place in Havana, organised with the support of the CIA.
The five men were arrested in September 1998 and later convicted in Miami and given lengthy jail sentences. International concerns about their lack of a fair trial led an Atlanta Court of Appeals hearing which overturned their convictions in 2005, but this decision was soon overturned by the full court, who re-instated the original convictions.
In the week before this protest an appeal court in Miami upheld the convictions and the life sentence against Gerardo Hernandez and that of 15 years against Rene Gonzalez, but referred Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez for re-sentencing in Miami.
Rock Around the Blockade had protested at the US Embassy the previous Thursday as a part of an international day of protest and were in Trafalgar Square on Saturday to raise awareness and collect signatures for a petition calling for the release of the men.
Rene Gonzales was eventually allowed to return to Cuba for his father’s funeral in 2013 having served 13 years of his sentence and Fernando Gonzalez was released in February 2014. The three remaining prisoners were released later that year in a prisoner swap.
Adventist Youth March against Knives, Guns & Violence
Trafalgar Square- Kennington Park
Pathfinders – an Adventist youth group – wait for the march to start
Seventh Day Adventist Church organisations had organised a youth rally in Trafalgar Square before marching to Kennington Park to make young people realise the dangers they face if they carry a knife.
Many feel that they need a knife to defend themselves if they are attacked by someone with a knife, but we know that meeting aggression with aggression carries a high risk.
Carrying a gun can get you a five years, use it and you could get a life sentence
I wrote: “Communities need to police themselves more effectively and to cooperate with the police when they cannot deal with situations without them. The problem is one that needs both strong community organisations and sensitive policing. I hope that Boris will be encouraging and putting resources into community organisation in the inner city and not just stepping up policing.”
The Peace Strike had joined the peace protesters already in Parliament Square in Brian Haw’s Peace Campaign there since 2001.
Maria Gallastegui had set up Peace Strike to call on people to take effective action for peace by striking, withdrawing their labour if only for short periods. The campaign against the invasion of Iraq had shown the marches, even huge marches, did not stop the war.
At the marches before the invasion began, speakers including Tony Benn had called for people to strike if the war went ahead, but when it happened Stop The War had simply decided to call yet another march.
Peace Strike aimed to build actions not just in the UK but globally which will demonstrate that people are willing to strike for peace and the future of humanity. In June 2008 an attack on Iran was a major threat, with the US building up forces.
As well as speeches we all enjoyed the playing and singing of singer/songwriter Harry Loco who had come from Holland, and as well as his own songs he gave a fine performance of a Dylan number.
End Child Detention, Gaza Flotilla Atrocity: I covered two protests on Saturday 5th June 2010, a carnival against the holding of children in immigration detention centres, and rallies and a march following the killing by Israel of on 31st May of peace protesters who were on a flotilla attempting to break the illegal blockade of Gaza, carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials. As last month, the ships were illegally intercepted in international waters, A UNHRC report on the incident concluded Israel acted with “an unacceptable level of brutality“. Nine protesters were killed and 30 seriously injured, with another dying later from his wounds.
Gaza Flotilla Atrocity Protest
Whitehall – Israeli Embassy
Around 20,000 people flooded Whitehall for a rally at Downing Street before marching to protest close to the Israeli Embassy following the murder days earlier of peace protesters by Israeli forces. They called for international action against Israel and an end to the illegal blockade.
The protest called by Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, British Muslim Initiative, CND, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Viva Palestina and Palestinian Forum of Britain had the official support of the trade union movement.
Tony Benn
There were speeches from politicians, activists and flotilla survivors both in Whitehall and after the march on Kensington High Street – and I name many and posted their pictures on My London Diary.
Although independent media reports had made clear that some of those killed had been shot multiple times in the head at close range in what appeared to be more or less random executions, the BBC had been broadcasting again and again the same lies from the same Israeli apologist defending their killings.
George Galloway
On the evening news they did mention this protest but reported that only 2,000 people took part, when clearly the actual number was at least five or ten times as many. As I commented “This is not an isolated error – there is a consistent policy by the BBC to play down the scale of protest.”
We have seen this playing down of pro-Palestine protests in particular in recent years, as well as a continuing and academically well-documented pro-Israel bias in their overall reporting. At least now there are now some interviewers who do try to question the Israeli spokespeople despite the overall editorial imbalance – but also allow them to keep repeating their lies.
SOAS Detainee Support Group had organised the ‘Release Carnival’ which called for an end to the practice of holding families and children in immigration detention centres.
The Children’s Commissioner for England, Sir Al Aynsley-Green had stated “Detention is harmful to children and therefore never likely to be in their best interests” and he argued “that detention of children for immigration control should cease“.
Although the UK Border’s Agency claimed “treating children with care and compassion is a priority for the UK Border Agency. Whenever we take decisions involving children their welfare comes first” the reality was very different, as you can read in many publications including the highly detailed report ‘State Sponsored Cruelty‘.
Detention centres are run by private contractors such as Serco and G4 whose main concern is profit, with little or no proper monitoring. Official inspections as well as many media investigations have made clear the real lack of proper care and maltreatment of detainees.
Jubilee Celebrations and Kurdish Protest: Celebrations were taking place on Sunday 2nd June 2002 for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee (and they continued the following day which was the Golden Jubilee Bank Holiday, with the Tuesday also being the Spring Bank Holiday – moved into Summer for more celebrations.) My main reason for going into London was to photograph a protest by Kurds but I also tried to photograph some of the celebrations. Quotes below are from what I wrote on My London Diary back in 2002 with some of the pictures and I took.
Sloane Square
Chelsea
“As a convinced republican I wasn’t too excited, but thought I’d go along and have a little look at how others were celebrating. Sloane Square seemed a good place to see how Chelsea was taking it as they were having a fair on Sunday 2nd June.”
At least while I was there the celebrations in Sloane Square were an extremely formal event and rather boring.
Kurds Call For Human Rights in Turkey
Westminster
I am the Kadek – Kurds protest
“I was glad to leave and join the Kurds in their demonstration for human rights. Britain has a lot to answer for, having betrayed them at the Lausanne Treaty in 1923 which divided their country, giving most to Turkey which has since behaved with complete disregard for their human rights.”
The Devil TurkeyKurds protest against banning of their organisations Free Ocalan, Free Kurdistan
“More recently – again to keep the Turks onside – the US put the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on their terrorist list, despite it having abandoned terrorism to try and obtain justice. ” KADEK was the name the PKK changed to in 2002 when it said it was committed to non-violent activities and it was added to the PKK proscription in 2006.
“Turkey has continued a policy of brutal repression – as the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed.”
“Cynical support of US policy by Britain and other countries resulted in the PKK also being listed [in the UK] as a banned terrorist organisation last month. It’s the kind of politics that makes me ashamed to be British and loses our Labour government any respect.”
“After the demo I went on to see how Southwark were celebrating. “
“The answer turned out to be very low key, though as usual there were some interesting food and drink stalls at Borough Market, and a steady stream of people walking along by the river.”
State Opening of Parliament: I wasn’t of course attending the Queen’s Opening of Parliament on Wednesday 27 May 2015, but it was a day for protests in Westminster. Class War had come to protest against the monarchy and the political system and were hounded by police, Compassion in Care protested in support of whistle-blowers, students in the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts had organised a rally and march and others including Disco Boy and Ahwazi protesters came to join in. The day ended with a People’s Assembly rally at Downing Street but I was too tired to cover this properly and went home. I wrote about all these in My London Dairy and uploaded quite a few pictures – you can read and view more by following the links in the brief introductions below.
Class War protest Queen’s speech
Parliament Square
Class War only managed to display their ‘political leaders’ banner on the corner of Parliament briefly before police forced them to put it away. Around 50 officers then followed most of them as they went to a nearby pub and continued to watch them from the opposite side of the street for several hours.
Police arrested two other men for simply standing in the square, one holding a video camera and the other a rolled up poster. They were released without chanrge some hours later.
A woman holds a photograph of her husband who died because of his mistreatment in a care home
A line of people held up posters and shouted ‘I am Edna’ at Downing St calling for a law which would make it an offence not to act on the genuine concerns of a whistleblower and to protect those revealing scandals in social care and other sectors.
As people gathered for the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts a police squad rushed in and arrested a man. They were surrounded by a crowd who grew angry when police refused to give them any explanation for the arrest and pushed some away roughly
Police pushed a young man standing on the pavement near the police van roughly out of their way, and when he complained, he was assaulted by an officer then arrested for assault.
Later police announced that the arrest in the square was in no way related to the gathering protest but to an earlier offence. Had they made that clear to the crowd when they made the arrest the problems could have been avoided.
Disco Boy at the mike with his mobile rig and crew in Trafalgar Square
Disco Boy’ Lee Marshall from Kent who runs discos at local events and carries out stunts to be videod and posted on social media brought a mobile rig to Trafalgar Square before the NCAFC protest there and had people dancing around the square before going on to perform elsewhere, including outside Downing St.
Class War’s controvesial banner got loud cheers from the crowd
Students and other supporters of the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts met in Trafalgar Square, and there were a few short speeches before they set off on a march.
A banner points out that less than a quarter of the population had voted for the Tory government and called for proportional representation.
Protesting with them were Class War, with several banners including a replacement for their ‘Political Leaders’ banner’ which had been taken by Bethnal Green Police the previous month (and police ‘lost’ it) and also the Hashem Shabani group of Ahwazi Arabs, who later held their own protest
The National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts set off down Whitehall with police making ineffectual attempts to stop them, arresting several forcefully.
The rest of the protesters remained peaceful and simply walked through the huge gaps in the police line, made larger as they made the few arrests. There seemed to be no reason for the police attempting to stop them.
The protesters complained to police about the violent attacks and arrests. They went to protest outside the DWP and then marched past the now heavily protected Tory Party HQ back to a People’s Assembly rally opposite Downing Street. Some stayed there, others marched on and I went home. It had been a long day.
Ahwazi protesters joined the mainly student anti-austerity National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts protesters in London to call for an end to the Iranian attacks on their heritage and identity. Their homeland, which includes most of Iran’s oil, was occupied by Iran in 1925
I photographed them in Trafalgar Square with the NCAFC and later when they left the march as it went through Parliament Square to hold a separate protest there.
The March Against Monsanto on Saturday 25 May 2013 attracted rather more attention than in some years partly because Bianca Jagger was to speak.
It had been intended to hold a static rally on the pavement in front of Parliament Square which is controlled by Westminster Council, but there were more people than could fit on this.
One of many pictaures of Bianca Jagger
The protest began to spill over on to the grass of the square where the authorities are particularly sensitive about protests after it was occupied by the Democracy Village peace camp in 2010.
Police suggested to the organisers that they move to Old Palace Yard, where there is more space for the rally, and they did so.
The London rally was one of many taking place around the world as an annual global ‘March Against Monsanto’.
Bianca Jagger has a long history of working for human rights and environmental causes – receiving for the latter the Green Globe Award from the Rainbow Alliance in 1997, and the United Nations Earth Day Award in 1994. Among over events I photographed her at several protests against mining company Vedanta.
Say Yes to BeesMonsanto GMOs Destroy Agricultural Diversity
She was followed by a number of other speakers stressing the danger of GM foods and biofuels and calling for some more organised action against them.
Hare Krishna had come and were providing free food for all who wanted it – but as usual I had brought my own sandwiches – always safer for a long-term diabetic. At the end of the rally their bike-hauled band with drum kit, amps and speakers arrived.
The event had been planned as a static rally, but soon the band was leading most of those present in a march around Parliament Square and up Whitehall where they stopped for a brief protest at the gates of Downing Street.
The march continued up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square where I left them – the band was returning to its base in Soho.
On My London Diary there is a very brief account of the problems of GMO foods and the particular dangers posed by Monsanto and their relationship with the US Food and Drugs Administration, as well as many more pictures: March Against Monsanto.
Youth Strike for Climate: London, Friday 24 May 2019
As we are expecting record May temperatures in the next few days and a summer with more deaths than ever from excessive heat, it is abundantly clear that the response of governments and politicians around the world to the climate crisis has for many years been woefully inadequate – and continues to be so.
Of course many of us have been pointing this out for many years, stressing the need for drastic changes to move away from the use of fossil fuels. As well as a huge shift to renewable energy this would also have needed dramatic changes in lifestyle in the industrialised countries and a move away from the politics and economics of greed and inequality.
Back in 2019 many young people saw we were heading towards catastrophe and failing globally to take effective steps to ameliorate the unavoidable crisis. They face a future world where temperatures will be generally several – perhaps five – degrees higher and our current global weather systems will be replaced by more extremes, with even more common fires and floods.
The younger you are now, the worse the problems will get in your lifetime, so it is hardly surprising that the young are more concented, and that many thousands around the world took part in a global climate strike against the lack of action by governments worldwide to combat the climate crisis in London in May 2019.
It was a protest with a great deal of energy, with a large crowd of mainly school students meeting in Parliament Square before marching past several ministries and staging a sit-down outside the Ministry of Education demanding that climate change becomes a vital aspect of the curriculum.
A crowded sit-down on the street at the Education Ministry
Clearly many school art departments were already getting involved, with protesters carrying an unusually numerous wide range of placards, for once hugely outnumbering those mass-produced by the Socialist Workers Party.
A brief protest at Downing St
From there they marched back up Whitehall past Downing Street to hold a rally in front of Nelson’s Column, then returning to protest at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and finally going back to Parliament Square.
By then I think some police tempers were getting a little frayed and some students were manhandled rather aggressively off the road – and at least one minor was arrested.
I’d got tired with some often rather fast marching and the protest was still continuing when I decided it was time to go home.
