6 Music, EDL & Democracy: On Saturday 22 May 2010 I began work outside the BBC with people protesting over the threatened closure of two popular radio networks, 6 Music and the Asian Network. I then covered a march through London by the far-right English Defence League. During the day I walked several times through Parliament Square and took a few pictures of the ‘Democracy Camp’ still there along with the longstanding Peace Camp.
Save BBC 6Music & Asian Network
Broadcasting House
Newspaper reports that the BBC might be planning to axe the digital music channel 6 Music stirred a huge campaign by supporters to save the radio station with #SaveBBC6Music trending on Twitter and a Facebook Group with nearly 180,000 members.
Radio 6 had been launched by the BBC in 2002 as a digital alternative music station and played a wide range of music including many genres largely marginalised by the more mainstream Radio 1 and Radio 2 – Wikipedia lists its output “pop, rock, dance, electronic, indie, hip-hop, R&B, punk, funk, grime, metal, soul, ska, house, reggae, jazz, blues, world, techno, experimental and many others“.
Around five months later “the BBC Trust announced that it was not convinced by the BBC Executive’s plans and that the station would not be closed.”
The very public campaign to save the station led to a significant growth in listeners and this continued, and by 2014 it was attracting more listeners than Radio 3.
The Asian Network which had begun on BBC local radio beofre being launched in 1989, and had later gone nationwide were also under threat. The BBC Trust also rejected plans to close the network but did cut its budget by 50%.
EDL In Patriot March in Central London
Westminster
The march through London to pay respect to the war dead at the Cenotaph and then hold a short rally at the Duke of York Steps was officially organised by ‘British Citizens Against Muslim Extremists’, but was largely if not entirely attended by those who had taken part in previous EDL marches, with many carrying EDL banners.
Unlike previous EDL marchers this was a peaceful march and there were few if any counter-demonstrations. The few hundred marchers included quite a few families and many carried St George flags.
Most here happy to be photographed when I met them outside a pub at the start of the march, many playing up for the cameras. And stewards quickly led away one man who seemed about to attack a press photographer.
Stewards also quickly dealt with a man who began an offensive chant about Allah, telling him the EDL was against such racist sentiments and also that the police had told them they would stop the march taking place if there were such racist chants.
There were loud chants against Sharia Law but also against ‘Muslim bombers’ a phrase that stigmatises all Muslims for the actions of a a few extremists which are not supported by the mass of the Muslim community.
The march set off noisily, but as it turned into Whitehall and approached the Cenotaph it became a silent tribute to British troops, which was followed by applause, with the chanting resuming as they came past Downing St, marching on through Trafalgar Square to Waterloo Place for the rally.
On My London Diary I write more about the march and about some of the marchers I photographed who told me about police harassment and being refused entry to pubs for wearing England shirts. Most who spoke to me were also insistent that they were not racists and they were happy for Muslims to live here so long as they respected British traditions and fitted in with our way of life.
At the rally I was threatened by a few of the protesters who decided to try to prevent press photographers from working. I complained to a couple of the stewards, and one of them accompanied me as I took a few more pictures before leaving.
More at EDL Patriot March in London.
Democracy Camp Continues
Parliament Square
I walked through Parliament Square several times over the day and took a few pictures.
There wasn’t a great deal happening, but the Democracy Camp which had set up there on May Day was still there three weeks later, despite the huffing and puffing from Boris Johnson and others.
Although they claimed their action was supporting the long-term protest by Brian Haw and supporters who were under constant threat by the police and others, the Parliament Square Peace Campaign suspected the Democracy Camp of being promoted by the police.
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