Police officers hurt, vehicles set on fire in violent protest in Bristol, England

[webfact]

A demonstrator skateboards in front of a burning police vehicle during a protest against a new proposed policing bill, in Bristol, Britain, March 21, 2021. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

 

By Peter Cziborra

 

BRISTOL, England (Reuters) - Two police officers were seriously injured and at least two police vehicles were set on fire in the city of Bristol in southwest England during violent scenes after a peaceful protest, police said.

 

Thousands of demonstrators had converged on the city centre, ignoring COVID-19 restrictions, to protest against a government bill going through parliament that would give police new powers to restrict street protests.

 

The local force, Avon and Somerset Police, said the demonstration began peacefully but was later turned into a violent disorder by a small minority.

 

Home Secretary Priti Patel, the interior minister, said on Twitter that the scenes in Bristol were unacceptable.

 

"Thuggery and disorder by a minority will never be tolerated," she said. "Our police officers put themselves in harm's way to protect us all. My thoughts this evening are with those police officers injured."

 

 

Two officers were taken to hospital, one with a broken arm and another with broken ribs, while others were subjected to violence and verbal abuse. The outside of a police station in the city centre was vandalized.

 

Avon and Somerset Police said it had requested help from neighbouring forces to bring the situation under control.

 

"All those involved in this criminal behaviour will be identified and brought to justice. There will be significant

consequences for behaviour such as this," Avon and Somerset's chief superintendent, Will White, said in a statement.

 

A Reuters photographer at the scene saw some demonstrators launch fireworks towards police officers, try to knock over a police van, scale the outside wall of a police station and spray graffiti on it.

 

He also saw police, some in full riot gear, using batons and shields to try to repel protesters.

 

Some demonstrators carried placards with slogans such as "Kill the Bill", "The Day Democracy Became Dictatorship" and "We Can't Be Silenced That Easy".

 

The government's Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill would give police new powers to impose time and noise limits on street protests.

 

That has angered activists, particularly since a heavy-handed police response to a London vigil for murder victim Sarah Everard on March 13 caused widespread outrage and criticism of the police.

 

A serving police officer has been charged with Everard's kidnap and murder, and the case has unleashed an outpouring of grief and rage over the issue of violence against women and girls.

 

The government bill pre-dated the Everard case and covers a wide range of policy areas as well as the policing of protests. However, the two became connected in many people's minds because, by coincidence, the bill was up for debate in parliament two days after the London vigil.

 

(Reporting by Peter Cziborra in Bristol and Estelle Shirbon in London; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-22

 

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[ivor bigun]

Its a terrible thing to have to say ,but we need another war to bring everyone back to their senses ,then we can start again like we did in the 50s , its just going to get worse as time goes by ,we have the new woke young ,being taught by left wing and woke teachers , who just jump on the latest bandwagon on social media ,on top of that so much immigration has happened that where once most people had the same outlook on life ,now there are so many different "outlooks on life"

Glad i am out of it , and that i lived in a much easier time.

ps ,i truly think we should also go back to the days of having the police out on the beat ,talking to and meeting the public on a daily basis. some hope of that i know.

[RuamRudy]

47 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

Its a terrible thing to have to say ,but we need another war to bring everyone back to their senses ,then we can start again like we did in the 50s , its just going to get worse as time goes by ,we have the new woke young ,being taught by left wing and woke teachers , who just jump on the latest bandwagon on social media ,on top of that so much immigration has happened that where once most people had the same outlook on life ,now there are so many different "outlooks on life"

Glad i am out of it , and that i lived in a much easier time.

ps ,i truly think we should also go back to the days of having the police out on the beat ,talking to and meeting the public on a daily basis. some hope of that i know.

 

It is ironic that you lament people holding left wing views while the great 'restart' of the 50s which you want to return to was the result of the world coming together to defeat the scourge of the hard right - it was hard right fascism which tore Europe apart in the 1930s and 40s and it is hard right fascism that our UK government is introducing by stealth, which will tear apart the UK.

Hold on a little longer - you will get another opportunity to restart, although I hope, for your country's sake, you don't continue to enable those corrupt, thieving fascists. 

[Surelynot]

1 hour ago, ivor bigun said:

its just going to get worse as time goes by ,we have the new woke young ,being taught by left wing and woke teachers ,

Probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever read............teachers are not woke and certainly have no time to to teach anything but the curriculum.......you really don't have a clue and shouldn't spout off this kind of unfounded nonsense......you need to read something other than the Daily Express.

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

"All those involved in this criminal behaviour will be identified and brought to justice. There will be significant

consequences for behaviour such as this," Avon and Somerset's chief superintendent, Will White, said in a statement.

I certainly hope so the scum have probably run home to mummy and coming off the drugs. 

[Surelynot]

8 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I certainly hope so the scum have probably run home to mummy and coming off the drugs. 

Wow...this article really is bringing out the low life today.

[2530Ubon]

Locking people down for months on end, losing jobs, businesses and inept governing will inevitably end up with scenes like these.

 

Bojo. Legalise recreational weed - they'll calm right down and be glued to the sofa with some snacks!

 

[vogie]

I notice not one, shall we say left of centre poster has mentioned the actual riots, is this something else that is somebody elses fault, we are all responsible for our own actions.

Why are the police allowing this to happen, perhaps they are not 'bending the knee' enough to thugs, vandals and rioters. Do the left actually have an opinion on these riots that is tantemount to anarchy, are they even bothered.

We have lost many young lives fighting fascism, were they fighting for for these peoples freedom to be born again fascists.

Maybe this 'knee bending' is coming back and biting them on the backside now, police are there to uphold the law and not to play politics.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, RuamRudy said:

it was hard right fascism which tore Europe apart in the 1930s and 40s and it is hard right fascism that our UK government is introducing by stealth, which will tear apart the UK.

You're wrong, they were socialists, that's why they were the National Socialist German Workers Party. The whole movement was based on union organisers and overthrowing those who held all the wealth. Nazi political strategy focused on anti-big business, anti-bourgeois, and anti-capitalist rhetoric which (as far as I can see) is identical to the aims of the people protesting in Bristol today.

 

Back to the OP, Bristol was always a bit rough, I remember riots when I lived there back in the 1970s.

Edited March 22, 2021 by BritManToo

[Chomper Higgot]

2 hours ago, ivor bigun said:

Its a terrible thing to have to say ,but we need another war to bring everyone back to their senses ,then we can start again like we did in the 50s , its just going to get worse as time goes by ,we have the new woke young ,being taught by left wing and woke teachers , who just jump on the latest bandwagon on social media ,on top of that so much immigration has happened that where once most people had the same outlook on life ,now there are so many different "outlooks on life"

Glad i am out of it , and that i lived in a much easier time.

ps ,i truly think we should also go back to the days of having the police out on the beat ,talking to and meeting the public on a daily basis. some hope of that i know.

Well you might remember the last war was processed by a government passing laws to give police extra powers to put down protests and public acts of defiance.

[Chomper Higgot]

4 minutes ago, vogie said:

I notice not one, shall we say left of centre poster has mentioned the actual riots, is this something else that is somebody elses fault, we are all responsible for our own actions.

Why are the police allowing this to happen, perhaps they are not 'bending the knee' enough to thugs, vandals and rioters. Do the left actually have an opinion on these riots that is tantemount to anarchy, are they even bothered.

We have lost many young lives fighting fascism, were they fighting for for these peoples freedom to be born again fascists.

Maybe this 'knee bending' is coming back and biting them on the backside now, police are there to uphold the law and not to play politics.

What on earth are you on about?

 

The protests are against the Government Bill that will give the police extra powers to suppress the Democratic right of people to protest.

 

Suppressing  the right to protest is a tactic of your ‘projection’ fascists.

 

I’ve not seen anyone here, on either the political left or the right, condoning rioting.

[Chomper Higgot]

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You're wrong, The Nazis were socialists, that's why they were the National Socialist Party.

The whole movement was based on union organisers and overthrowing those who held all the wealth.

The Nazis were not socialists.

 

They were backed by and acted for big business and puta great deal of effort into hunting down and murdering socialists.

 

Try not to embarrass yourself so publicly.

[2530Ubon]

6 minutes ago, vogie said:

I notice not one, shall we say left of centre poster has mentioned the actual riots, is this something else that is somebody elses fault, we are all responsible for our own actions.

Why are the police allowing this to happen, perhaps they are not 'bending the knee' enough to thugs, vandals and rioters. Do the left actually have an opinion on these riots that is tantemount to anarchy, are they even bothered.

We have lost many young lives fighting fascism, were they fighting for for these peoples freedom to be born again fascists.

Maybe this 'knee bending' is coming back and biting them on the backside now, police are there to uphold the law and not to play politics.

Bending the knee... I thought game of thrones was finished.

Thuggery... I thought this phrase was a no no.

 

Government - the action or manner of controlling or regulating a nation, organization, or people. If the government is losing control, one must ask why the people are so upset.

 

Of course rioting and damaging peoples property is wrong, but that's generally how people make themselves heard. By causing a big scene.

 

 

[2530Ubon]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

What on earth are you on about?

 

The protests are against the Government Bill that will give the police extra powers to suppress the Democratic right of people to protest.

 

Suppressing  the right to protest is a tactic of your ‘projection’ fascists.

 

I’ve not seen anyone here, on either the political left or the right, condoning rioting.

Perhaps they're taking a look at Prayuths playbook. Don't like protests? Ban them.

[BritManToo]

Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

They were backed by and acted for big business and puta great deal of effort into hunting down and murdering socialists.

You'll need to go in and correct Wiki then.

"Initial Nazi political strategy focused on anti-big business, anti-bourgeois, and anti-capitalist rhetoric'

Edited March 22, 2021 by BritManToo

[vogie]

Just now, Chomper Higgot said:

What on earth are you on about?

 

The protests are against the Government Bill that will give the police extra powers to suppress the Democratic right of people to protest.

 

Suppressing  the right to protest is a tactic of your ‘projection’ fascists.

 

I’ve not seen anyone here, on either the political left or the right, condoning rioting.

I have never seen anyone from the left mentioning the riots only criticising other posters that have.

So are we in agreement that injuring the police, torching their vehicles is wrong and that when the culprits are eventually caught they deserve to receive the hardest sentence that is possible to give to these anarchists.

[vogie]

5 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

Bending the knee... I thought game of thrones was finished.

Thuggery... I thought this phrase was a no no.

 

Government - the action or manner of controlling or regulating a nation, organization, or people. If the government is losing control, one must ask why the people are so upset.

 

Of course rioting and damaging peoples property is wrong, but that's generally how people make themselves heard. By causing a big scene.

 

 

Vandalism is a crime!

[Chomper Higgot]

9 minutes ago, vogie said:

I have never seen anyone from the left mentioning the riots only criticising other posters that have.

So are we in agreement that injuring the police, torching their vehicles is wrong and that when the culprits are eventually caught they deserve to receive the hardest sentence that is possible to give to these anarchists.

We agree, with injuring police officers and torching vehicles is wrong and should be dealt with harshly by the courts.

 

next.

[2530Ubon]

8 minutes ago, vogie said:

Vandalism is a crime!

Agreed - and they should be punished. The government should also be punished in the next election for trying to remove democratically enshrined principles.

[Surelynot]

Just imagine......a left wing government (somehow???) gets into power...............income tax raised to 35% in order to re-nationalize rail, energy, water etc...... the Armed forces decimated..........editoral control brought in to rein in the rightwing press............parliament prorogued...........elections for the foreseeable suspended.......and no right to protest?

[BenDeCosta]

Almost all of the social issues we are seeing now comes from the actions of people with hard-left views. And it seems that for them, burning, looting and rioting is acceptable behaviour. 

[RuamRudy]

25 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

You're wrong, they were socialists, that's why they were the National Socialist German Workers Party. The whole movement was based on union organisers and overthrowing those who held all the wealth. Nazi political strategy focused on anti-big business, anti-bourgeois, and anti-capitalist rhetoric which (as far as I can see) is identical to the aims of the people protesting in Bristol today.

 

It's that sort of simplistic thinking that led to such results as Brexit. Next you will be telling us that North Korea is a bastion of democracy because it's Sunday name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

[Surelynot]

15 minutes ago, vogie said:

So are we in agreement that injuring the police, torching their vehicles is wrong and that when the culprits are eventually caught they deserve to receive..........

......penalties commensurate with their crimes....wholeheartedly agree ......let's not sentence someone to 10 years for spraying graffiti on a statue though.......unless of course it were a statue of, say, Bevan?

[Surelynot]

3 minutes ago, BenDeCosta said:

Almost all of the social issues

Lack of care funding for the elderly, 10 years of austerity, UC not fit for purpose, under funded NHS and pay that has declined over the last 10 years in real terms for nearly the whole population......those kinds of social issues?

[RuamRudy]

2 minutes ago, BenDeCosta said:

Almost all of the social issues we are seeing now comes from the actions of people with hard-left views. And it seems that for them, burning, looting and rioting is acceptable behaviour. 

 

Hard left, hard right - both equally as odious and equally as culpable for the decline of the UK. The problem is that we have a government which is using the chaos their own dark-arts social media experts have fomented to continue their undermining of the hard-fought freedoms we have enjoyed for generations while further cementing their own thieving hands on the UK's coffers.

[BenDeCosta]

2 minutes ago, RuamRudy said:

 

Hard left, hard right - both equally as odious and equally as culpable for the decline of the UK. The problem is that we have a government which is using the chaos their own dark-arts social media experts have fomented to continue their undermining of the hard-fought freedoms we have enjoyed for generations while further cementing their own thieving hands on the UK's coffers.

 

Through all of these issues, the only guarantees are that MPs will keep getting paid, and that they'll get a nice pay rise.

 

For everyone else, it's tough s**t.

Edited March 22, 2021 by BenDeCosta

[Surelynot]

2 minutes ago, BenDeCosta said:

 

Through all of these issues, the only guarantees are that MPs will keep getting paid, and that they'll get a nice pay rise.

 

For everyone else, it's tough s**t.

....and what is worse is their MP's salary is just a drop in the ocean.......I for one would be happy to see them receive a salary of, say, £120,000??? and not be allowed income from directorships, non-executive posts, consultancy, lobbying, gifts....etc...........maybe we would then see MP's interested in serving the people...not themselves.

[BenDeCosta]

5 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

....and what is worse is their MP's salary is just a drop in the ocean.......I for one would be happy to see them receive a salary of, say, £120,000??? and not be allowed income from directorships, non-executive posts, consultancy, lobbying, gifts....etc...........maybe we would then see MP's interested in serving the people...not themselves.

It's never going to happen, they use their power to lobby for things that they will personally gain from, or for things that people are paying them to lobby for. They are the greediest people on the planet.

[Bangkokhatter]

You have to smile when posters are maligned for speaking out against the rioters. 

 

As the report states a peaceful demonstration turned ugly when a minority started acting like thugs. These groups are at all demonstrations, whether far right or left and only go there to disrupt, generally have no interest in the subject matter and just get their kicks attacking the Police or destroying property.

 

Shame really for the peaceful protesters as they do have a genuine grievance that will not get any airtime due to the rioting.

Edited March 22, 2021 by Bangkokhatter

[gunderhill]

Generation woke  more  like generation w**k is what I call them, only  have to  look at the  photos  to see how they are.

Edited March 22, 2021 by gunderhill