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Greg Mulholland-Working Hard For Leeds North West"PEACEFUL PROTEST MUST BE PROTECTED FROM POLICE" MULHOLLAND TELLS GOVERNMENT
July 6, 2009 11:30 PM
Greg Mulholland, MP for Leeds North West, today became the first parliamentarian to question the new Home Affairs front bench. In the first Home Office Questions since the Cabinet re-shuffle, Greg asked the Home Affairs team, headed by Home Secretary Alan Johnson, about the controversial policing tactics used by the authorities at the Kingsnorth Climate Camp.
Greg raised the eyewitness reports of constituents Sumil Bhopal, James Chan and Stephen Halpin of the Kingnorth Camp, where police were reputed to have blocked food and water from getting through to protestors.
Greg commented;
"This is an extremely important issue which has affected constituents of mine as well as protestors from all over the country.
The right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of modern democracy which must be protected at all costs. The police should not be allowed to use bullying tactics against civilians exercising their democratic rights.
It is essential that we hold the Government to account over the behaviour of the police, especially in protest situations. Any reported abuses of power must be properly investigated and recommendations made for future events."