United Campaign Against Police Violence report back

United Campaign Against Police Violence report back - picket the Met 30 April

Protesters march through London last Saturday (11 April) to demand justice for Ian Tomlinson (Pic: » Angela Stapleford)

The march of over 500 people last Saturday was the perfect launch pad for the fightback against police brutality in Britain.

The first campaign meeting on Wednesday 15 April was attended by around 60 people and included the Tomlinson family solicitor, representatives from the Riggs and Douglas families that saw loved ones die in police custody (United Friends and Families Campaign), plus representatives from G20 Meltdown, Stop the War Coalition, the Newham Monitoring Project, Inquest, the Green Party and the Socialist Workers Party, among others.

It was agreed to name the campaign the United Campaign Against Police Violence and an open steering committee has been set up which held its first meeting on Saturday and was attended by Inquest's Helen Shaw, the NMP and the Green Party's London Policy Co-ordinator.

The campaign is now planning for a launch rally on 5 May to be followed by a national demonstration on 23 May. Shami Chakrabarti the director of Liberty has indicated she would like to speak at the meeting, as has Jeremy Corbyn and Bob Crow. More details to be announced soon.

Bob Crow, the general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union is backing the campaign as is Mark Serwotka, leader of the civil service workers' union the PCS.

This coming Saturday will see the campaign leaflet fans at Millwall football club, as Ian Tomlinson was a big fan. Bob Crow a Millwall fan will be joining the leafleters.

This Friday 24 April Ken Livingstone and the Greens on the London Assembly are backing a mass turning off of lights across London between 8.30 and 9.30 as a mark of respect for Ian and in protest at police violence.

The main action to focus on will be taking place on Thursday 30 April when the campaign is asking supporters to join them in picketing the Metropolitan Police Authority meeting at the London Assembly.

The campaign has decided not to call for a public inquiry as much of what happened to Ian is already in the public domain.

The United Campaign Against Police Violence says:

• Remember Ian Tomlinson
• No more deaths in custody
• Defend the freedom to protest

More posts to follow with details on all of the above and how you can get involved with the campaign which is still in the early stages.

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