Protesters accused of holding Brighton and Hove to ransom (From The Argus)

Does anyone shop in shops anymore, Its all on-line is it not?

sh i te journalism Argus, you just repeated a story you put some 11 hours fifty-eight minutes previously, this time with slightly more detail.
You lot really have lost the plot, my six year old daughter could do better

The city being held to "ransom" can hardly be blamed on the protesters alone. Try the dozens of riot cops in churchill square despite there actually being no protesters there..... The police really screwed up on saturday, and are now trying to use any means possible to shift the limelight onto the (mostly) peaceful protesters. Cheers sussex police...

htmltomycss wrote:
The city being held to "ransom" can hardly be blamed on the protesters alone. Try the dozens of riot cops in churchill square despite there actually being no protesters there..... The police really screwed up on saturday, and are now trying to use any means possible to shift the limelight onto the (mostly) peaceful protesters. Cheers sussex police...

If the protestors informed Police of their planned route then the appropriate Police numbers could have been directed to the relevant locations. As they didn't, the Police have to cover all bases in order to protect the public who pay their taxes and become inconvenienced by these jokers. Don't blame the poloice you lemon htmltomycss!

htmltomycss wrote:
The city being held to "ransom" can hardly be blamed on the protesters alone. Try the dozens of riot cops in churchill square despite there actually being no protesters there..... The police really screwed up on saturday, and are now trying to use any means possible to shift the limelight onto the (mostly) peaceful protesters. Cheers sussex police...

What rubbish. If the protesters don't communicate with the Police then the Police have to plan for the worst.

Isn't it strange that when there were marches by Albion fans ( and don't forget that to many football fans are the scum of the earth ) there were only ever a handful of police needed. Why ? Because we communicated with the police our route and numbers. We achieved our aim - something this lowly rabble of less than 200 never will.

The protesters think that they can continue to hold demos when they feel like it.
If they think that this government will put up with it for long, they've got a big shock coming.

Caroline Lucas has been surprisingly quiet, maybe she's thinking up what to say about loss of revenue to brighton businesses, considering she's suppsoed to represent them whilst in fact all she represents is protesters right to rant against tesco.

My son and I were walking up North Street while these insurgents were running around the area.

They were chaotic, with no agenda and it wasn't even clear what the protest was about. It reminded me of the 'Rag week' that Universities used to have, where the kids would run around performing pranks for a few days.

The tourists enjoyed it, taking loads of snapshots although we couldn't explain what they were protesting about, or to whom.

The police were happy enough, managed to stop them from scaring staff, or gluing themselves to various banks or shops - one told me he was on overtime all day - happy times, eh?

The rebels, themselves, were having a fun old time, in the sun, although I saw the police prevent them from going into Sainsubury, en-masse; so I hope they'd brought sandwiches.

The buses were held up for half-an-hour or so, during the day, which seemed to be good news for the drink and ice-cream sellers around town, serving those of us waiting to get home.

So, a good day for all involved, eh?

htmltomycss wrote:
The city being held to "ransom" can hardly be blamed on the protesters alone. Try the dozens of riot cops in churchill square despite there actually being no protesters there..... The police really screwed up on saturday, and are now trying to use any means possible to shift the limelight onto the (mostly) peaceful protesters. Cheers sussex police...

Nonsense, the police had no choice as despite asking many, many times for information about the protests, the cowards - sorry, protesters - refused to give times or locations, therefore the police had to try and second-guess them.

the protesters probably did not want to divulge their demo details to the police , so as to avoid the oppressive 'kettling' techniques that the police deploy....

Get out of my Brighton and Hove protestors.....how dare they hold up the bank holiday and disrupt it for other people.

Once again, even though it was the police who blocked all the roads (sometimes with up to 6 riot vans), it is the protesters who get blamed for all the traffic chaos. There were numerous occasions where the march was off to the side of the roads & the traffic could easily have been let through. It makes good headlines though to help some of the ignorant fools on here to keep spouting their clichés.

CreamTea wrote:
the protesters probably did not want to divulge their demo details to the police , so as to avoid the oppressive 'kettling' techniques that the police deploy....

I rather like 'kettling' It's very cosy.
Tell me, as the police aren't allowed to use water-cannon, what other tactic do you suggest - or should they just let a riot occur, as has happened several times before in the last few months?

Kettling is cosy.......glad you take it seriously.....when we protested back in the eighties , the police tactic seemed to be direct violence...maybe you would prefer that tactic ?

The Albion marchers and March for England weren't kettled. Reading the many replies to deluded htmltomycss can you work out why?

CreamTea wrote:
Kettling is cosy.......glad you take it seriously.....when we protested back in the eighties , the police tactic seemed to be direct violence...maybe you would prefer that tactic ?

Hang on - if it was really bad in the eighties, compared to kettling, what the feck are you complaining about? Do you honestly think the police should just let the demonstrators get on with it? Maybe you should just be grateful that you've got the right to protest at all. because citizens of some countries aren't afforded that luxury...

As the police now tend to give advance warning of the methods of violence they intend to use, presumably as a way of intimidating possible protesters, it is understandable that they are reluctant to give the police details of their intentions.

As the police now tend to give advance warning of the methods of violence they intend to use, presumably as a way of intimidating possible protesters, it is understandable that they are reluctant to give the police details of their intentions.

The number of police in the centre of town was ludicrous - particularly from a force that routinely tells victims of crime that they don't have the resources to investigate them properly. The protests were peaceful and there was no need for this presence - as posters have said above, this is about intimidation, not maintaining order.

For as long as the police continue to use the brutal form of collective punishment known as "kettling", and continue to use powers to deal with football hooligans to film and build databases of the personal details of protesters, the protesters are going to be reluctant to give details. The alternative to kettling, of course, is to allow crowds to disperse.

Want more disruption then vote the Greens.Personally I would ban it.Incidently how about presenting the policing bill to Caroline Lucas and her strange Green party.Seems that the Greens are only active in Brighton.The rest of the Country are just not interested.Wonder why?

It has been recently very obvious that even peaceful protesters like myself cannot trust the police to respond with an appropriate presence, therefore it is hardly surprising that exact details were not communicated.
As I left work on Saturday afternoon to join my friends and colleagues protesting at Old Steine, I was appalled to see 30 riot and two mounted police charging down Sydney Street, demanding I moved out their way. I was angry to see such an aggressive and unwarranted form of policing, especially because they were deployed in areas where no one was or had been protesting. As drastic cuts targeting the frontline services that protect the weakest and most vulnerable of our people are being implemented, the unnecessary level of policing on Saturday was made even more disgusting and showed a blatant disregard for tax-payers money.
Riot vans and such over-policing was completely unnecessary and anyone stupid enough to believe this headline needs to realise that our police are no longer there to protect our rights but to infringe on them. The idea that police were deployed in such numbers on Saturday to protect good British taxpayers is a joke. But it's not very funny. What is funny however is that instead of being scared I found the sheer lack of organisation of the mostly overweight and undereducated throngs of cops rather amusing. All that an exaggerated police presence does is make protesters feel under attack and more likely to react.
I made an account simply to say that I am very sad to read the comments of people who think that the police in anyway acted appropriately on Saturday. I am ashamed to think that I share this great city with such bigoted, self-serving fools. Or maybe that's just Argus readers?

The Real Phil wrote:
As the police now tend to give advance warning of the methods of violence they intend to use, presumably as a way of intimidating possible protesters, it is understandable that they are reluctant to give the police details of their intentions.

The Real Phil:

If protestors behaved themselves then they have nothing to worry about. Having watched the London and Brighton riots I only saw people who deserved such force get it.

In my opinion, if you don't play by the rules then you really can't be complaining when the people you come up against don't either.

Protestors - you were a joke - you had no idea where to go.I was at the waggon and horses with many friends and you came running - no charging up from the Steyne - you frightened the tourists, the landlady wanted to close the pub - and tHere were no police chasing you . You were a rabble. People may support you if you presented a decent organised protest - but you were a joke and we laughed at you!!

EtonMess wrote:
It has been recently very obvious that even peaceful protesters like myself cannot trust the police to respond with an appropriate presence, therefore it is hardly surprising that exact details were not communicated.
As I left work on Saturday afternoon to join my friends and colleagues protesting at Old Steine, I was appalled to see 30 riot and two mounted police charging down Sydney Street, demanding I moved out their way. I was angry to see such an aggressive and unwarranted form of policing, especially because they were deployed in areas where no one was or had been protesting. As drastic cuts targeting the frontline services that protect the weakest and most vulnerable of our people are being implemented, the unnecessary level of policing on Saturday was made even more disgusting and showed a blatant disregard for tax-payers money.
Riot vans and such over-policing was completely unnecessary and anyone stupid enough to believe this headline needs to realise that our police are no longer there to protect our rights but to infringe on them. The idea that police were deployed in such numbers on Saturday to protect good British taxpayers is a joke. But it's not very funny. What is funny however is that instead of being scared I found the sheer lack of organisation of the mostly overweight and undereducated throngs of cops rather amusing. All that an exaggerated police presence does is make protesters feel under attack and more likely to react.
I made an account simply to say that I am very sad to read the comments of people who think that the police in anyway acted appropriately on Saturday. I am ashamed to think that I share this great city with such bigoted, self-serving fools. Or maybe that's just Argus readers?

Firstly by definition you're an Argus reader, as you have responded to a reported story. Secondly, don't try to dress this up as fascist police vs poor innocent protesters. My wife and children got caught up the last time your mob went rampaging through Brighton, andit was the police that protected them. Secondly, for someone who is so up for peace, you then accuse the police of being overweight and uneducated, so nice generalising there - not much better than racism or sexism. You also make reference to the cuts - don't forget that police are subject to this and affected by the cuts as well - and directly affected. Finally, if your protest is representative of the British public, then why aren't there scores of your supporters on here drowning out the 'dissenting few.' I totally applaud and support the right to protest, and have been on protests myself, have no allegiance to any political idealism, but if you go out knowing there are people among you intent on starting trouble, then you take the risk. Police cannot be expected to be able to distinguish immediately, nor can they let trouble pass by in case they risk offending others....

To all the protestors trying to blame the police, it doesnt wash. Refusing to cooperate with the police is a SmashEdo tactic, it forces the police to over police. If you use SmashEdo tactics you get SmashEdo results, people turn against you. Stop acting the victims, about 500000 protested in London recently with few arrests and no kettling (till the bloc heads took over) We remember Mayday two years ago when shops were smashed up and the police attacked, so we know the police are right to fear the worst. You have the right to protest you dont have a right to wander down the middle of a busy road causing as much disruption as possible. Stop acting the victims, your tactics backfired, they havent worked for SmashEdo they wont work for you.

I think the city is well and truly sick of these protests, such a shame Brighton allows these festering soap dodgers to remain.

I'd personally like to thank everyone who ruined my afternoon by keeping the police helicopter overhead for at least two hours ... I wonder what that alone cost. 57 years in this town and now I feel the need to leave ... it's just horrid.

A good old truncheon up the "A*se" they love it. lol Brighton Bill Yorkshire Seagull.

EtonMess wrote:
It has been recently very obvious that even peaceful protesters like myself cannot trust the police to respond with an appropriate presence, therefore it is hardly surprising that exact details were not communicated. As I left work on Saturday afternoon to join my friends and colleagues protesting at Old Steine, I was appalled to see 30 riot and two mounted police charging down Sydney Street, demanding I moved out their way. I was angry to see such an aggressive and unwarranted form of policing, especially because they were deployed in areas where no one was or had been protesting. As drastic cuts targeting the frontline services that protect the weakest and most vulnerable of our people are being implemented, the unnecessary level of policing on Saturday was made even more disgusting and showed a blatant disregard for tax-payers money. Riot vans and such over-policing was completely unnecessary and anyone stupid enough to believe this headline needs to realise that our police are no longer there to protect our rights but to infringe on them. The idea that police were deployed in such numbers on Saturday to protect good British taxpayers is a joke. But it's not very funny. What is funny however is that instead of being scared I found the sheer lack of organisation of the mostly overweight and undereducated throngs of cops rather amusing. All that an exaggerated police presence does is make protesters feel under attack and more likely to react. I made an account simply to say that I am very sad to read the comments of people who think that the police in anyway acted appropriately on Saturday. I am ashamed to think that I share this great city with such bigoted, self-serving fools. Or maybe that's just Argus readers?

Re etonmess message
I read you message and I must say it's extremely well written. I can only assume that you are a great author of fiction, I'd love to read one of your novels. The only minor negative I would say is that you might like to consider a little research. I tend to find that a little reality makes for a much more gripping read. I especially like the comedy aspect, how I laughed when you mentioned about the mounted police shouting for you to get out of their way, it was almost like they were trying to protect you from harms way....god my sides were splitting by then!!! Let me just add a little reality for you, the police officers you like to call 'riot police' (obviously that's what you were expecting) are the same officers that would pick people up from a vicious attack and help them, they would be an understanding and sypathetic ear when someones been raped, they would hold pieces of body together to save lives in car accidents, they hold babies and keep them safe when their parents abuse them, they walk into houses knowing that the occupant lies dead somewhere, they do all they can to help the likes of you and guess what! They don't judge you and they'll still be there for you no matter what!! Still 'riot police' to you???

Lil6 wrote:

EtonMess wrote:
It has been recently very obvious that even peaceful protesters like myself cannot trust the police to respond with an appropriate presence, therefore it is hardly surprising that exact details were not communicated. As I left work on Saturday afternoon to join my friends and colleagues protesting at Old Steine, I was appalled to see 30 riot and two mounted police charging down Sydney Street, demanding I moved out their way. I was angry to see such an aggressive and unwarranted form of policing, especially because they were deployed in areas where no one was or had been protesting. As drastic cuts targeting the frontline services that protect the weakest and most vulnerable of our people are being implemented, the unnecessary level of policing on Saturday was made even more disgusting and showed a blatant disregard for tax-payers money. Riot vans and such over-policing was completely unnecessary and anyone stupid enough to believe this headline needs to realise that our police are no longer there to protect our rights but to infringe on them. The idea that police were deployed in such numbers on Saturday to protect good British taxpayers is a joke. But it's not very funny. What is funny however is that instead of being scared I found the sheer lack of organisation of the mostly overweight and undereducated throngs of cops rather amusing. All that an exaggerated police presence does is make protesters feel under attack and more likely to react. I made an account simply to say that I am very sad to read the comments of people who think that the police in anyway acted appropriately on Saturday. I am ashamed to think that I share this great city with such bigoted, self-serving fools. Or maybe that's just Argus readers?

Re etonmess message
I read you message and I must say it's extremely well written. I can only assume that you are a great author of fiction, I'd love to read one of your novels. The only minor negative I would say is that you might like to consider a little research. I tend to find that a little reality makes for a much more gripping read. I especially like the comedy aspect, how I laughed when you mentioned about the mounted police shouting for you to get out of their way, it was almost like they were trying to protect you from harms way....god my sides were splitting by then!!! Let me just add a little reality for you, the police officers you like to call 'riot police' (obviously that's what you were expecting) are the same officers that would pick people up from a vicious attack and help them, they would be an understanding and sypathetic ear when someones been raped, they would hold pieces of body together to save lives in car accidents, they hold babies and keep them safe when their parents abuse them, they walk into houses knowing that the occupant lies dead somewhere, they do all they can to help the likes of you and guess what! They don't judge you and they'll still be there for you no matter what!! Still 'riot police' to you???

EtonMess is just another posh kid caught up in the whimsy of it all. Go claim your inheritance and spend it as far away from OUR beloved homes as you can; Tosser!

Lil6 - Hear! Hear! A little respect for those who protect us without judgement.

BladesBoy - Whilst I agree with much of what you write I feel I have to say that not all posh kids are t**ts, you can be a c**t from any background.

AngelicDevil wrote:
Lil6 - Hear! Hear! A little respect for those who protect us without judgement.

BladesBoy - Whilst I agree with much of what you write I feel I have to say that not all posh kids are t**ts, you can be a c**t from any background.

You are right to a degree, however in the context of the 'protest' and from what I saw and heard, it was just posh kids and a few hangers on When these idiots appear in court we should learn more