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Proceeding contribution from Lord Brett (Labour) in the House of Lords on Thursday, 11 November 2010. It occurred during Ministerial statement on Public Disorder at NUS Rally.


Public Disorder at NUS Rally

My Lords, yesterday when watching television I had a sense of déjà vu watching the disgraceful events in Millbank Tower. The déjà vu was: 1996 in Seattle with the World Trade Organisation, where I was one of the people inadvertently suffering from pepper gas and tear gas, because the police were seeking to protect the delegates but had the Seattle sound with a 30 mile an hour wind to put up with. The thing that was in common was watching people dressed entirely in black and wearing hard hats, smashing into Millbank Tower then encouraging young people to go in and themselves, noticeably, not necessarily going in but walking away. That is exactly what I saw when a Starbucks coffee house was burnt out in Seattle. The gentleman who threw the brazier in—he had lit a whole pile of rubbish—then walked away, taking off his black shirt and putting it underneath his other T-shirt. It is therefore not necessarily just a question of students, because I suspect that some of the people have nothing to do with being students. I trust that the investigation will therefore look at that. More particularly, there was intelligence about Millbank Tower, where I used to work. It is a large building with lots of staff who must have been very terrified when that happened. If there was such intelligence, was the management of the building informed of the likelihood of such dangers?


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
722 c343 
Session
2010-12
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Demonstrations Damage Fees and charges Greater London Public order offences Metropolitan Police Trespass Violence Students Vandalism Conservative Department for Business, Innovation and Skills National Union of Students Millbank
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk