Peter Tatchell | >Re-PHOTO

Spain & Pride – 2009

Spain & Pride: A few days ago I watched online what was apparently the first full UK showing of Basilio Martín Patino’s 1974 film ‘Caudillo‘, produced in secret in Spain while Franco was still in power.

It’s a powerful documentary on the Spanish Civil War of 1936-9 and the rise of Franco, not surprisingly rather ragged around the edges, with some poor sound and seriously deficient subtitles but with an incredible amount of contemporary footage from both sides of the war.

It made me aware again of the terrible failure of Britain along with the other non-fascist powers to support the Spanish government and of the bravery of many thousands of individuals on the left here and elsewhere defy their governments and go to fight for freedom. Until 31st July 2026 you can still watch the Sands Films presentation of Caudillo here. There are some short sections from the over two hour-long film on You Tube.

Back on 4th July 2009 I attended the annual International Brigade Commemoration at Jubilee Gardens in London, rushing away from Pride London to so.

International Brigade Commemoration

Jubilee Gardens

Spain & Pride - 2009 — *In 2009 there where are still a few alive who had gone to Spain – Lou Kenton, now 101, was an ambulance driver.*

This month, July 2026, is the 100th anniversary of the start of the Spanish Civil War and this commemoration in 2009 was 70 years after it ended. As I commented, “Every year there are fewer and fewer of those who went to Spain to fight or work in the medical services, all now in their 90s or older. And every year a list of those who have died in the past year. “

Sam Lesser remembers Jack Jones, one of the great men of the twentieth century who had died in the previous year.

Wreaths came from the Spanish Ambassador, the Catalonian representative and others

There were women who went as well as men. While our politicians stood to one side and let Germany and Italy join the fight against the elected government of Spain and much of the Spanish people, many ordinary working people supported the Republic, particularly the communists and anarchists. Over 40,000 went to fight, mainly in the International Brigades and a further 10,000 as civilians, mainly as nurses and other medical staff.

The only two nations to support the Republican cause were Mexico and the Soviet Union, with Stalin sending large amounts of weapons – though many promised failed to arrive and others were antiquated.

But it was Stalin and the communists his advisers controlled who scuppered the chances of a Republican victory by attacking, imprisoning and disbanding the other groups successfully opposing Franco’s forces, freeing the poor to take over the land. A real revolution was anathema to Stalin who feared it might give his peasants ideas.

The consequence of losing the war were dire for the Spanish people (except the Catholic Church and the wealthy) with many years of repression and dictatorship – and for much of the world as it led to the Second World War.

More at International Brigade Commemoration.

Pride London 2009

Baker St to Trafalgar Square

Earlier in the day I had photographed the 2009 Pride London March. I commented “Things have changed pretty dramatically over those 15 or more years [since I first attended], and Pride is largely a very different event, much more of a corporate than a personal or political one. Of course the LGBT community being what it is there is still plenty of room for the unusual, the eccentric,the flamboyant, the spectacle. And even, though perhaps rather more at the edges, the political.”

*Outrage protest the ban on gay marriage – Sarah Brown was on the march*

Here I’ll post a few of the more political, but I think the pictures on My London Diary cover the whole range described above.

And there was the usual small group of Christian bigots who had come to share their carefully selected texts

*The United Protestant Council *“annual witness against New Sodom, parading its shame on the streets of London*.”*

Many more pictures on My London Diary: Pride London.

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Muslims, Iran, Canary Wharf & Queer is Here – 2006

Muslims, Iran, Canary Wharf & Queer is Here: Saturday February 4th was a busy day for me with a couple of protests, a trip to Canary Wharf and then the opening of a show in the Foyer of the Museum of London which included some of my work from ten years of London’s Pride marches.

The first of the protests was by Hizb Ut-Tahrir Britain, a radical Muslim organisagion which was proscribed in the UK in January 2024 following a protest outside the Egyptian Embassy which called on ‘Muslim Armies’ to take action against Israel. I’d first photographed a group which had been formed by its former leader for ten years, Omar BakrI Muhammad at a protest in Trafalgar Square in 1998 and later had photographed a number of the Hizb Ut-Tahrir protests, including the one for which they were banned.

The ban was part of a government attempt to stigmatise all protests against the Israeli attacks taking place on Gaza as ‘hate protests‘ and the BBC and other media outlets aided them by failing to properly distinguish the protest by a few hundred radical Muslims from the hundreds of thousands who marched peacefully at the same time through London calling for peace and justice in Palestine. Had they thought if they could get away with proscribing Stop the War, CND and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign they would surely have done so.

Here I’ll re-post a normally capitalised and slightly corrected version of what I wrote back in 2006 on My London Diary about that and other events of the day, along with links to more pictures including the full set of my pictures used in the museum show.

Defend the Honour of the Prophet

Danish Embassy

Several thousand British Muslims turned up outside the Danish Embassy around midday on Saturday 4 February 2006 to protest peacefully about the publication of cartoons by a Danish newspaper some months ago, following their re-publication in a number of other newspapers around Europe and on the Internet. Although I understand their outrage, and support their right to protest, the world-wide reactions have seemed excessive, with violence and injuries as well as lurid threats of death and atrocities presenting a very negative image of Islam.

To the credit of British Muslims, this demonstration was peaceful and restrained, with official placards provided by organisers Hizb Ut-Tahrir, Britain saying things such as ‘we do not fear debate or criticism – but no one likes abuse‘, ‘Islam says – don’t insult other peoples religions‘ and ‘Europe lacks respect for others’, or simply praising the prophet, although some of the speeches sounded rather more inflammatory.

Stewards (and of course the police) generally kept everyone well under order, as well as making sensible photography virtually impossible during the rally. After the event was officially over it was possible to take more pictures

The problem is I think not that “Europe lacks respect” but that our tradition is a secular liberal one which respects and upholds freedom of speech and opinion (our blasphemy laws, which should have been repealed long ago, are seldom invoked.)

There are many things said and written that I find offensive (including several of the cartoons at issue) and you and I have the right to state our objections, to debate or criticise and even to stop eating Danish butter – but not to stir up hatred or issue death threats. Despite some press reports, this demonstration was generally well-ordered, and I saw none of the placards which have led to calls for people to be prosecuted.

more pictures

Support Workers in Iran!

Iranian Embassy

*Protestors hold posters about public executions, torture and imprisonment of workers opposite Iran’s London Embassy in Kensington.*

Meanwhile, a short distance away, a demonstration that perhaps should have attracted rather more support from the Muslim community was taking place opposite the Iranian embassy. Perhaps 50 people had gathered there to protest against human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and to support workers there who have no right to strike or organise under Iran’s draconian labour law.

*The demonstration is a show of solidarity with Iranian trade unionists and the GMB London Region banner added colour.*

In January 2004 workers staging a sit-in at the Khatoon Abad copper plant were attacked by riot police, with four killed and many more injured. Recently, bus workers in Tehran have been arrested for planning and carrying out strike action. According to Amnesty International, around 500 are still in jail, without charges being made or access to lawyers. Some of them have been beaten in prison, and their wives and children also beaten in raids on their homes.

*A letter of protest was taken to the door of the embassy but nobody came to accept it*

There are many more abuses of human rights being committed under the name of law in Iran including torture, murder and public executions (even of minors) for offences including ‘un-Islamic behaviour‘. Given the amount of news coverage on Iran at the moment over uranium enrichment, it is perhaps surprising that other stories from Iran – such as these – have not attracted more attention. And since most of those who are suffering are Muslim, I’m suprised at the apparent lack of solidarity from the community in Britain.

more pictures

Canary Wharf & the City

*West India Quay from new access bridge*

I left for a late lunch, then went on to Canary Wharf, where I had things to do. Although it was a very dull day I took a few pictures before catching the Docklands Light Railway to Bank and walking through the empty City to the Museum Of London on London Wall.

Quite a few more pictures here.

Queer is Here

Museum of London

At the Museum Of London was an event I had a personal interest in, the opening of a foyer display ‘Queer Is Here‘. I’d provided the dozen images used on the front of the large display panel beside the general text on the show, and there was also a screen beside it showing more of my images taken at London Gay Pride Parades from 1993-2002. In those ten years of Pride I took perhaps 5,000 images, and the display shows around 40 of the best of them.

*Gay Pride parade in Piccadilly, June 1994. Picture by Peter Marshall from ‘Ten Years of Pride’ , part of the ‘Queer is Here’ exhibition at the Museum of London.*

There were a few of these on My London Diary already (along with many from later Prides) but I posted the full set of pictures used in the show.

The exhibition was opened by Peter Tatchell, who I’ve photographed many times over the years, and was enlivened by a spirited performance from the London Gay Mens Chorus. After the month at the Museum Of London the display was to tour to libraries and other venues in London and possibly elsewhere around the country

More pictures from the opening

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Ahwazi Crash Secret UK-Iran Business Meeting – 2015

Ahwazi Crash Secret UK-Iran Business Meeting: On Friday 3rd July 2015 I went into the offices of the British Iranian Chambers of Commerce (BICC) with a group of British-Iranian Ahwazi Arabs and human rights activist Peter Tatchell to gatecrash a secret meeting promoting UK-Iran trade and investment in NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company) House in Westminster.

Iran of course is very much back in the news now, following the attacks on its nuclear installions by Israel and the USA, concerned that Iran might be developing nuclear weapons. At the moment Israel is the only state in the Middle East with nuclear weapons and they and their US partners are very much concerned to keep it that way. But this protest was against the continuing savage oppression of the Awazi in Iran.

Iran is of course a state with a highly oppresive authoritarian religious regime – as Amnesty International report they surpress “the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly” with “Women and girls, LGBTI people, and ethnic and religious minorities” experiencing “systemic discrimination and violence.”

The Awazi Arabs are Iran’s largest Arab speaking community and their largely autonomous state of Al-Ahwaz was forcibly taken over by Persia in 1925. And they suffer more than any other ethnic group from Iranian oppression.

Oil was first discovered in Al-Ahwaz in 1908, and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company formed to exploit it (in was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1935) was directly controlled by the British government from 1914 to 1951 when oil was nationalised under the the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC.) Almost all of Iran’s oil is in the Ahwazi regions. Anglo-Iranian is now rather better known as BP.

Iranian violent persecution, forced displacement and the suppression of Ahwazi Arabs and their culture has continued since 1925, turning their homeland, thought to have been the inspiration of the Biblical ‘Garden of Eden’ into a a desolate wasteland, the poorest area of the Middle East.

*Peter Tatchell talks with some of those taking part in the secret meeting*

A recent Facebook post gives a short clear summary of Iran’s history – here’s the text:

“IRAN ONCE HAD DEMOCRACY – THE WEST DESTROYED IT.
Every time Western leaders talk about “freedom and democracy” in Iran – they either don’t know history – or they’re hoping you don’t.

IRAN HAD DEMOCRACY – Until the CIA and MI6 overthrew it. Why? Because Iran dared to nationalize its own oil. That was 1953. The elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mossadegh, was toppled by Operation Ajax. Why? Because British Petroleum (yes, that BP) didn’t want to lose control.

So let’s stop pretending the West ever cared about the Iranian people.
It was always about oil and imperial control. And those parroting “freedom” today – without this context – are sadly, useful idiots for empire.”

The post goes on to promote the book “The Devil’s Chessboard” by David Talbot, founding editor of Salon, which apparently “tells the full story” of how the “Dulles brothers weaponized the CIA to crush democracy abroad – from Iran to Congo to Guatemala” though I’ve not read it.

*‘We demand Dignity and Justice for Ahwazis’*

You can read more about what happened inside NIOC House on My London Diary, though I think the pictures and captions give a good idea there are many more there. I had some difficult in working in the low lighting in the corridor and from some trying to stop me taking pictures, but was not seriously harrassed, though I was stopped and wasn’t able to get a picture of Lord Lamont as he was confronted by some of the protesters, although the other photographers did.

One man – recognised by the protesters as an Iranian Embassy official – began to assault one of the photographers but was restrained by others from the meeting. After ten minutes the protesters decided they had make their point and we all made our way down to the foyer. Here we were met by police who stopped us leaving.

While we were not arrested we were prevented from leaving for over 45 minutes, although I and the other journalists all showed our press cards. It was hot and I was pleased to drink some of the cold fruit juice the building manager hospitably offered. The photographer who had been assaulted complained to the police before went up to the sixth floor – when they came down he was told his assailant might have diplomatic immunity and the photographer decided not to press charges.

Eventually all of us were released, presumably as the BICC wished to avoid publicity about their meeting. The protesters including some who had stayed outside the building then posed on the steps for photographs.

More on My London Diary at Ahwazi crash secret UK-Iran business meeting.

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

EDL No Show & Pride Celebrates Love and Marriage – 2013

EDL No Show & Pride Celebrates Love and Marriage: I began my day with Unite Against Fascism activists who met at Speakers Corner to opposed a march by the EDL, but they didn’t turn up. After taking a few pictures as the UAF celebrated news of the arrests of the EDL leaders as they defied the Tower Hamlets ban I walked to where Pride was gathering in Baker Street.

UAF Oppose, EDL Don’t Come

EDL No Show & Pride Celebrates Love and Marriage - 2013 — *The only EDL present were English Disco Lovers*

On Saturday 29th June 2013 the English Defence League had been banned by police from entering Tower Hamlets and protesting by walking past the East London Mosque as well as from any assembly or procession in Woolwich. Instead they were allowed to march from Hyde Park to Parliament and UAF had been given permission to march in protest in the same area against them.

There were only 50 to 100 UAF supporters at Speakers Corner when I arrived, perhaps because it had become clear that the EDL seemed unlikely to accept the police compromise. While I was there the news came through that the EDL leaders Stephen Lennon (‘Tommy Robinson’) and Kevin Carroll had been arrested in Whitechapel as they tried to ignore the ban and was greeted with loud cheering.

I left shortly after to go to Pride.

More at UAF Oppose, EDL Don’t Come.

Pride Celebrates Love and Marriage – Baker St – Trafalgar Square

Pride 2013 celebrated the passage of the 2013 Marriage bill then going through the UK parliament – it became law as the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 the following month, though only came into force in March 2014. A similar Act in Scotland came into force later in 2014, but couples in Northern Ireland had to wait another six years.

As I commented, “Pride has for years become a celebration of gay lifestyle, with a large participation by corporates who profit from this, but at least this year the overall theme was related to a political event.”

I tried in my coverage of the parade to cover as many as I could of those taking part who were clearly celebrating that theme, as well as many of the other individuals and groups who provide the incredible diversity and colour of the event.

*‘The Queen’ put in her usual appearance*

The parade was forming up on Baker Street and I arrived there a couple of hours before they all moved off, and most of my pictures were taken there, but I later went on to Trafalgar Sqaure, leaving when the end of the parade reached there. Here are just a few of the pictures I made – you can see many more on My London Diary.

*‘Trans* people are being Criminalised while you Party’*

*Stonewall: ‘Some Girls Marry Girls. Get Over It.*

There are many, many more pictures of people in the parade on My London Diary at Pride Celebrates Love and Marriage.

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Pride, Paedos & Class War – 2015

Pride, Paedos & Class War: Saturday 27th June 2015 I photographed the London Pride Parade and a protest at it by Class War, as well as a protest at Downing Street against paedophiles in high positions and the activities of the family courts. Of course we now know that the main witness behind the Met’s Operation Midland was a “liar, fraudster and paedophile” who was later sentenced to “to 18 years in prison, having been found guilty of 12 counts of perverting the course of justice, one of fraud, and several child sexual offences.” Even back in 2015 it was hard to understand why the Met police took his fantastic allegations so seriously.

Pride Parade – Baker Street

I photographed people getting ready for the parade in Baker Street, and had a particular interest in Pride 2015 as this was the 30th anniversary of the support that Pride had then given to the Miners Strike.

Because of this there was more interest in the event by trade unions and political groups giving the event a more radical nature than the commercial festival it has now become.

But Pride 2015 was still “dominated by large commercial groups, who also provide large amounts of sponsorship to enable the event as a whole to be dominated by commercial interests. It seems a long way from the event when I first photographed it in the early 90s when Pride was a protest.”

Of course there are still things apart from the large corporate groups and it was these and the more political aspects that I was interested in photographing as you can see from the many pictures on My London Diary.

And as usual, Peter Tatchell was still there with supporters to uphold the radical past of the event, this time marching with posters against the Northern Ireland same-sex marriage ban and the homophobis of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Much more on My London Diary at Pride Parade.

Class War protest ‘corporate pinkwashing’ – Piccadilly Circus and Pall Mall

Class War had come to Piccadilly Circus with a new banner, ‘POOR IS THE NEW QUEER‘
against the corporate sponsorship and takeover of Pride in London. Below was the message ‘F**k the Pink Pound, F**k Corporate Pinkwashing!’ and half a dozen of them held it up in front of Barclay’s at Piccadilly Circus.

Before that some of them, suitably attired, had posed for photos on the street, and then posed and danced with some of those who had come to watch the parade.

They then moved down to Pall Mall where they found a spot where the crowd waiting for the parade was much thinner and leaned on the barriers until the front of the parade had almost reached them. They lifted up the barriers and took to the street walking a few yards in front of it with their bannner for around 50 yards. A smoke flare drew attention to their protest, while Pride stewards and police tried to get them to leave and they were forced back behind the barriers.

The stood behind the barriers holding the banner as the front of the parade moved past, watched closely by police, but then saw a larger group of police approaching and decided “it was time to disappear, running towards Trafalgar Square. I followed half of them down into the subway where they lost the police, emerging from one of the other subway entrances. Most if not all had evaded the police and were meeting up to decide on any further action, but I’d followed them enough and left.”

More at Class War protest ‘corporate pinkwashing’.

Victims & Survivors call for Justice – Downing St,

An angry rally opposite Downing St called for an end to the covering up of paedophilia, particularly the 76 allegations against MPs, as well as others in high positions protected by the establishment whose investigation has been shelved.

Although few outside of the Met Police believed the claims made by “Nick” about MPs, even the wildest allegations may have some truth behind them, and after the rumours and allegations against Jimmy Saville were dismissed for so many years by the establishment it is difficult to dismiss everything as wild rumours and conspiracy theories.

Some had come to protest about the secret activities of the family courts, often taking children away from loving parents and in some cases returning them an abusive parent. Some judges were accused of confusing poverty with abuse. Gagging orders prevent many of the facts becoming known. Problems over transparency in these courts have now become officially recognised and there have been pilot schemes to improve this without harming the children involved.

Victims & Survivors call for Justice

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Against the Invasion of Iraq – April 2003

Against the Invasion of Iraq: The US and its allies had begun the invasion of Iraq on 20th March 2003, with Britain taking part despite the huge opposition of the British people. President Bush had decided months earlier that the invasion would take place and the US had manufactured fake information that Iraq had failed to abandon its weapons of mass destruction.

UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair had added his own lies to this to persuade the British parliament, presenting the “dodgy dossier” together with highly misleading statements. Although 84 Labour MPs voted against (along with almost all of the Liberal Democrats and most of the smaller parties) and there were 94 mainly Labour abstentions the Labour Government won the vote easily with the support of the Conservative Party. For many of us it seemed a vote which demonstrated a complete failure of our parliamentary democracy, MPs following the party line and voting for war in clear disregard of the evidence.

And the BBC and mass media had failed to properly investigate and challenge the official position, with the BBC moving into an establishment role in supporting the war.

On Saturday 5th April Stop the War, CND and others organised another protest against the war and I walked with the protesters from outside Broadcasting House in Portland Place to a rally close to the US embassy in Grosvenor Square and later posted the following piece (corrected as usual) on My London Diary with some of my pictures.

April started with the country at war, invading Iraq together with the USA.

On Saturday 5th I went to a march to protest against this and to call for proper reporting of the events in the media, especially the BBC.

I walked to the march past the houses of parliament and a small group of protesters in whitehall who were pointing out the number of Iraqi civilians already killed by the allied forces.

The main thrust of the demonstration now was that the civilian population of Iraq should be respected. The use of weapons such as depleted uranium shells and cluster bombs will mean the deaths continue for generations after the end of the fighting.

The march started opposite the BBC building in Portland Place and went to Grosvenor Square, close to the US Embassy. There were perhaps five thousand marchers, and several hundred police surrounding them most of the time. As the speakers pointed out, it was difficult not to see the war as a US takeover of the country when plans were already in place for Americans to run the country after the war.

The killing of Iraqis must stop, and rapid progress should be made to hand control of the country back to its people.

Iraq has still not recovered from the disastrous effects of the invasion and in particular from the failure of the USA to think beyond getting rid of Saddam Hussein and his regime. In doing so they also demolished the civil state and the internal security of the country turning it into a lawless state.

It is now clear that there were no “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and that the whole invasion was justified on what were known at the time to be lies.

The USA established a provisional authority led by US diplomat Paul Bremner which made the ridiculous decision to disband the Iraqi Army and exclude all members of Saddam’s Ba’ath party from government in Iraq rather than taking these over and using them to build a new Iraq.

As well as leaving the country at the mercy of a wide range of militia units this also disqualified the entire civil service at all levels from taking part in the rebuilding of the the country – including all government officials for whom party membership was simply a condition of service, even the 40,000 teachers.

As Wikipedia states, in 2023, “Corruption remains endemic throughout all levels of governance while US-endorsed sectarian political system has driven increased levels of violent terrorism and sectarian conflicts within Iraq.” And although accurate estimates are difficult, probably by now over a million Iraqis have died because of the invasion and the insurgencies that followed. Around 2.4 million Iraqis have left the country as refugees and well over a million remain internally displaced inside the Iraq.

As we are now seeing under Trump, a total irresponsibility and ignorance seems to be at the heart of US foreign policy. Trump has just made this more open and obvious.

There are just a few more pictures with the original article, particularly of the speakers at the event.

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Junior Doctors, Uganda & Benefit Sanctions – 2016

Junior Doctors, Uganda & Benefit Sanctions: On Wednesday 9th March 2016 Junior Doctors held a one-day strike over their claims for a better deal from the NHS and I joined a rally outside University College Hospital where health workers and trade unionists showed support and called for an end to the creeping privatisation of the NHS. Later in Trafalgar Square Ugandans were protesting the rigged presidential elections. Finally I went to the Dept of Work & Pensions to cover a National Day of Action against Benefit Sanctions, which often leave people with no means of support for sometimes trivial reasons and were by then known to have led to at least 95 deaths.

UCH rally for Junior Doctors Strike – Euston Rd

Junior Doctors, Uganda & Benefit Sanctions - 2016

Trade unionists, medical staff at all levels and other supporters joined the Junior Doctors picket line outside University College Hospital to show their support.

They then held a rally across the road from the hospital, one of London’s largest on the busy Euston Road.

Junior doctors are fully trained doctors in postgraduate training and gaining clinical experience to become members of the appropriate Royal College of Medicine. They may remain as junior doctors for around 8-20 years and are the largest group of doctors working in our hospitals.

In 2023 the he British Medical Association (BMA) decided it would no longer use the term “junior doctor” as it failed to indicate their high level of skills. In 2024 and as a part of the settlement of their dispute which came finally after the election of a Labour government they were renamed “resident doctors.”

On My London Diary I gave a long list of some of the speakers which indicate the huge range of support for the junior doctors and their fight against a Tory government that was determined to wreck the NHS so that it could be fully privatised for the benefit of largely US-based health care companies in which many of them had a financial interest.

Their aim was move towards a US-style insurance-based system – which would lead to many of us being unable to afford appropriate treatment and to face enormous bills – healthcare is by far the largest cause of bankruptcy in the USA. It seems likely that Labour under Starmer will continue to move in the the same direction.

Personally I would be unable to get insurance for my existing long-term health conditions. The NHS has for over 22 years enabled me to lead a normal life without charge to me and at a relatively low cost to the nation, whereas in the USA my continuing treatment would by now have cost me well over a quarter of a million dollars.

UCH rally for Junior Doctors Strike

Ugandans protest rigged Presidential Election – Uganda High Commission

Many Ugandans believe that February 2016 elections that re-elecated Museeveni as president were rigged and protesters outside the High Commission in Trafalgar Square demanded an independent audit of the results and called for the immediate release of opposition candidate Dr Besigye and other political prisoners, as well as action against those responsible for torture.

The protest was organised by the Uganda Diaspora P10 UK, and FDC UK Chapter and was supported by the African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group and Peter Tatchell Foundation.

Yoweri Museveni has been in power since 1986, but international observers widely reported widespread fraud and irregularities, with many voters being unable to vote and the declared results from many polling stations being very different from the actual votes. Opposition candidates were repeatedly arrested and voters were intimidated.

I arrived almost at the end of an hour-long protest in front of the High Commission and then photographed them marching down Whitehall behind a Nigerian flag towards Downing St where I left them.

Many more pictures at Ugandans protest rigged Presidential Election.

Unite against Benefit Sanctions – DWP, Caxton House

*Didi Rossi from Global Women’s Strike accuses the Tories of deliberately targeting and killing the poor*

Unite Community members had come to hold a protest outside the DWP headquarters in Westminster as a part of their National Day of Action against Benefit Sanctions. There were other protests at job centres in over 70 towns and cities.

Benefit sanctions – periods where claimants lose their benefits – are often imposed for trivial reasons and those beyond the power of claimants. They may be sanctioned for arriving late after buses were cancelled or for not turning up when letters calling them to an appointment have not arrived in time or have been lost in the post.

*Winvisble and Global Womens’s Strike members were there in support*

As I commented, “Despite government denials, at least 95 deaths are known to have been as a result of sanctions which leave people destitute and starving. Some, like David Clapson, have actually starved to death while others have been so desperate that they have killed themselves. Without the efforts of the many food banks the figure would be much higher.“

There was anger when a Unite Community speaker said that the DWP’s policies had failed. Didi Rossi of Global Women’s Strike retorted that the DWP had been extremely successful in their attacks on the unemployed and disabled, and that the deaths were the clear intention behind the policies of Iain Duncan Smith.

Staff working for the DWP were being given incentives and targets for giving sanctions. And the faulty tests administered for “fitness for work” and being stripped of benefits were leading to many deaths. Over 80 people a month were dying shortly after this, most while appealing against the decision. More than 2,500 sick and disabled benefit claimants are known to have died after being found ‘fit for work’ in just 2 years.

More at Unite against Benefit Sanctions.

David Clapson – Sanctioned to Death – DWP, Caxton House

One of those taking part in the protest at the DWP was Gill Thompson, the sister of David Clapson, a diabetic ex-soldier who died starving and destitute because he was penalised by the Job Centre for missing a meeting.

She had come to hand in a petition to the DWP over his death and this was handed to a DWP representative together with another petition with over 200,000 signatures between them calling for an inquest into his death and an end to unfair benefit sanctions that leave claimants without support.

David Clapson – Sanctioned to Death

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

All photographs on this page are copyright © Peter Marshall.
Contact me to buy prints or licence to reproduce.

Political Policing & Shocking Lies

Political Policing & Shocking Lies: Last Saturday, 19th January 2025 I was witness to a shameful display of aggressive and politically motivated policing in the centre of London.

Politics had come into the event days earlier when police had banned the National Protest for Palestine from gathering at the BBC to march to Whitehall on the less than flimsy pretext that there is a synagogue around three hundred yards away.

The synagogue in question is down a side street and in the opposite direction that the march would travel, and none of the previous over 20 national marches for Palestine has involved any violence or intimidation of Jews.

*Police harass a group of holocaust survivors and families, telling them they must move further up Whitehall.*

Many Jews have taken part in all of these marches and other protests against the killing in Gaza and the continuing repression in the occupied West Bank, calling for freedom for Palestinians. And all of the marches since the Hamas attack on Israel have called for the release of the hostages held in Gaza as well as for a solution to bring peace and justice to Palestine.

To meet the police objections the march organisers had offered to march in the opposite direction, meaning they would arrive at the BBC several hours after any of those attending the synagogue would have left. Police rejected this offer and instead proposed that the march would start in Russell Square. Since the march was in large part a protest against the biased coverage of events by the BBC.

In their thoroughly researched report published in March 2004, the Centre for Media Monitoring clearly showed the extent of pro-Israel bias in BBC reporting, for example in giving considerable publicity to unverified statements by Israeli official sources, many of which have later been found to be false, as well as deliberately calling into question statements from Palestinian sources.

The report is a long and careful study and should at least have meant considerable changes in the way that the BBC covers events if it values its claim to be impartial, but any changes have been minor. The organisation continues to heap doubt on the claims over the number of deaths of Palestinians despite these largely being confirmed as accurate by UN and other observers – and a recent peer-reviewed statistical analysis in The Lancet suggesting that the actual number of deaths are 40% higher than the official Gaza health ministry figures.

*Peter Tatchell calls for the release of all Palestine political prisoners.*

When their reasonable suggestion was turned down by the police, the march organisers announced they would instead hold a rally in Whitehall. Clearly the police were not happy at this but it would have been difficult for them to raise any legally sustainable reason to ban it.

So the rally went ahead, and I went to photograph it. Entering Whitehall I was stopped for a short time as policed parked a van to make access more difficult but managed to walk past. Others coming to the protest were actually stopped by police and had to walk around to enter Whitehall by side streets.

Inside Whitehall there seemed to be a number of lines of police giving contradictory orders to people to move up or down the street. I watched with incredulity as a group of officers came to tell a small group of Jewish holocuast survivors and sons and duaghters of survivors they could not stand at the side of the road in front of the stage but had to move further away up Whitehall.

Then I hear shouting from a crowd by the side of the stage. A particularly aggesive squad of police was forcing them to move and had arrested one woman who had not obeyed there orders, thowing her to the ground. The protesters were shouting ‘Let Her Go, Let Her Go‘ but they didn’t, simply facing the crowd aggressively and promising further arrests. A second slightly less aggressive squad was similarly forcing people along past the other side of the compound around the stage.

There seemed no point to either of these squads other than to stage a little police aggession. A few minutes later they left the area and people were free to wander into the areas they had cleared – and a group set up a large display with children’s clothing hung on washing lines.

At the end of the rally the speakers including one of the holocaust survivors, MPs John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn and representatives of other groups involved in the protest came to stand on the stage holding bunches of flowers for two minutes of silence.

It was then announced that this small group of delegates would attempt to march to lay flowers at the BBC, but if stopped by police they would lay down the flowers where they were stopped in front of the police line and accuse them of being complicit in the lies told by the BBC and our government in support of the genocide taking place in Gaza.

The protesters in the huge crowd in Whitehall were asked to move to the side to make way for this group, and people did until they had almost reached Trafalgar Square. Here police stopped them and they waited patiently to see if they would be allowed through.

But thousands of protesters had moved up Whitehall with them, and those of us at the front were in danger of being crushed, slowly being pushed forwards by the crowd behind, but held back by police. The police withdrew and I managed to find some space inside the box of stewards where they had been in front of the marchers. Then in the only sensible action by police I saw that day, some officers returned to force a path and urge the marchers to go through into Trafalgar Square, and I went with them.

*Marchers stop in front of the line of police and wait*

I was rather shaken after being crushed and after taking a final picture of the march moving freely on towards Pall Mall I turned and walked slowly away towards Charing Cross station. Later I heard that the small delegation of marchers had decided to lay their flowers in Trafalgar Square when a snatch squad of ten police approached the head steward Chris Nineham and brutally threw him to the ground and arrested him. Their violence was totally unnecessary.

*Police make way and tell the marchers to go through*

Nineham was held for around 20 hours before being arrested on police bail which prevents him from taking part in any protest. His was one of 77 arrests made, many after the end of the protest when police kettled those still in Trafalgar Square. So far at least 13 have been charged, including Nineham and Ben Jamal, head of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and both Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnel have been interviewed under criminal caution.

*and they march into Trafalgar Square unhindered.*

Police were very quick to publish the lie that the marchers forced their way through the police line, and it was quickly picked up and amplified by the media despite video and eye-witnesses showing that they were urged and escorted though by officers.

Police told many other lies on the day, acted throughout aggressively and were clearly under pressure from members of the government and some Jewish leaders to do so. Many British Jews support Palestine and there were hundreds if not thousands of them taking part in the protest, far outnumbering a small group that came to oppose it.

More pictures at National Rally For Palestine.

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

Uganda Anti-gay Law & Guantanamo – 2014

Uganda Anti-gay Law & Guantanamo: Wednesday 8th January 2014 I photographed two protests in central London, the first in front of Uganda House in Trafalgar Square against the Anti-Homosexuality Act which had been passed by the Ugandan parliament but was awaiting signature by the President, and the second in Parliament Square calling for the closure of the illegal Guantanamo torture camp and the release of UK Resident Shaker Aamer.

Against Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law – Uganda House

A crowd filled the pavement outside Uganda House on Trafalgar Square in a protest organised by the African LGBTI Out & Proud Diamond Group and Peter Tatchell Foundation and supported by other groups including Queer Strike, Movement for Justice, Lesbian Gay Christians, Rainbows Across Borders, the RMT, Nigerian LGBTIs and Women of Colour.

They called on President Museveni not to sign the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, (often referred to as the ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill.) Originally the Bill had called for the death penalty for what it described as “aggravated homosexuality”, but this was reduced to life imprisonment when it was passed by an inquorate Ugandan Parliament in December despite not being on the day’s order of business.

Museveni eventually signed and the Act became law on 24th February 2014. The bill, under consideration by the Ugandan parliament since 2009 had provoked a huge amount of international condemnation and in June 2014 the US announced various sanctions against Uganda.

This Act was annulled by Uganda’s Constitutional Court in August 2014 as it had been passed without the necessary parliamentary quorum.

But in 2023, the Ugandan Parliament passed a new Anti-Homosexuality Act. Museveni passed it back to them for reconsideration when it was passed with minor amendments by a vote of 348 to 1 and he then signed it into law. It provided life imprisonment for homosexual acts and the death penalty for acts involving various groups of vulnerable people including those under 18 or over 75, disabled or mentally ill and repeat offenders or acts which transmit serious infectious diseases.

In 2024, the Constitutional Court upheld the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, making a few minor changes, asserting “In defiance of international law, the judges ruled that the act does not violate fundamental rights to equality and nondiscrimination, privacy, freedom of expression, or the right to work for LGBT people.”

More about the 2014 protest at Against Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law.

Free Shaker Aamer Vigil – Parliament Square

The Save Shaker Aamer campaign mounted its first vigil in 2014 opposite Parliament calling for the Londoner’s urgent release. Held there without charge of trial since Feb 14, 2002 he was first cleared for release in 2007.

A dozen protesters in orange Guantanamo-style jump suits and black hoods lined the pavement opposite Parliament with posters and banners, occasionally walking slowly up and down to remind MPs of the need to press the US for his release. Although there has never been any evidence against him, his release and evidence of his continuing torture and the complicity in this of the British security service MI6 would greatly embarrass both the UK and US

You can read more about his case in my account on My London Diary. Eventually after years of public pressure and protests such as this he was finally released to the UK on 30 October 2015.

Free Shaker Aamer Vigil

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos

Israel, Ripper & Zimbabwe 2017

Israel, Ripper & Zimbabwe: On Saturday 14th October 2017 I began work in Mayfair where a protest calling for a restaurant owner and chef not to break the cultural boycott of Israel was opposed by Zionists before going to Cable Street for a protest at the Ripper ‘Museum’ and ending at a celebration of 15 years of the Zimbabwe Embassy vigil.

Little Social don’t break the cultural boycott – Mayfair

The owner of the Little Social Restuarant and his head chef were going to take part in the Brand Israel culinary event ‘Round Tables’ in Tel Aviv in November 2017 and human rights group Inminds had come to plead with them not to break the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel.

Events such as these are a part of the Israeli government’s Public Relations efforts to distract from its policies of occupation and apartheid. The event was sponsored by Dan Hotels who have a branch built on stolen Palestinian land in occupied East Jerusalem.

Police arrived and talked with the protesters who included several Palestinians and Jews. They assured police they would do nothing illegal, and continued getting out their flags and banners.

A few people arrived to put on a counter-protest. One man assured me that everything the people protesting in support of Palestine said and had on their banners was lies, and tried to justify all of Israel’s actions, including the then recent attacks on Gaza. He tried to talk with the protesters but they told him they were not interested in hearing his lies.

I told him how my friend had been attacked by settlers in Palestine and who came and stole the olives from the farm – and that Israel’s attacks on Gaza were entirely disproportionate to the rocket attacks on Israel which he said provoked and claimed justified them, and that Israel should respect the United Nations resolutions. He continued to blame the Palestinians for everything and later I was defamed as “a noted anti-Semitic photographer” in a report on this event for my coverage of and other protests over Palestine and by the “wrong type of Jews.”

Little Social don’t break the cultural boycott.

Class War return to Ripper “Museum” – Cable Street

Class War returned with London 4th Wave Feminists to protest peacefuly outside the so-called “museum’ in Cable St displaying exhibits glorifying the brutal series of 19th century murders and exhibiting materials relating to the horrific deaths of working class women.

They came after Tower Hamlets council had failed to enforce the planning decisions against the shop, only given planning permission under the false pretence it would celebrate the history of women in the East End.

They stood with their ‘Womens Death Brigade‘ banner on the pavement in front of the tourist shop and symbolically attacked it and its illegal metal shutters and signage with plastic inflatable hammers.

Police led in a few tourists who had come to visit the shop past the protesters, who refused to move away. Some went away after talking when they heard why people were protesting about the exhibition, and others who went inside came out and told them that they thought the “museum’s” publicity was misleading and they had been very disappointed by the display.

Not much is known about some of the victims, but they were all women struggling to make a living, some with dependents. People from some of their families still live in London and are disgusted at the displays in this tourist attraction.

One of the 4th Wave Feminists read a message from a member of one of those families, complaining about the voyeuristic exploitation of her ancestor in the displays. We were told was known about the unfortunate victims, reminding us that they were real people and should not be exploited in this way by a toruist rip-off.

More pictures at Class War r eturn to Ripper “Museum”

Zimbabwe democracy vigil celebrates 15 years – Zimbabwe Embassy, Strand

The first weekly vigil was held on 12th October 2002 and there have been around 780 every Saturday since then.

They intend to continue to protest until there are free and fair elections and an end the human rights abuses of the Mugabe regime. Their vigils are in solidarity with courageous and inspiring human rights defenders in Zimbabwe who risk life and liberty to demand democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Among those present were a number who had been at that first vigil, including human rights activist Peter Tatchell who was badly beaten when he attempted a citizen’s arrest on Mugabe in Brussels in 2001. He cut the celebratory cake with others from the vigil.

Since then Mugabe has gone but the human rights situation in Zimbabwe is still dire and vigils continue, now both virtually and twice monthly in person. It “will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe vigil celebrates 15 years

Flickr – Facebook – My London Diary – Hull Photos – Lea Valley – Paris
London’s Industrial Heritage – London Photos