Telephone: 020 7601 2222 PO Box 36451 London EC2M 4WN
Sign up for community email and receive the latest updates on news, events and incidents happening in the City.
The City’s iconic backdrop and position at the centre of the world’s financial markets means it has long been a location for protest.
That has been particularly evident over recent months, with a long-running protest camp in St Paul’s Churchyard and several smaller demonstrations visiting the Square Mile.
One of the roles of the City of London Police is to help find the balance between facilitating peaceful protest and minimising the disruption that protest can cause to the local community.
An example of how the force does that was seen at a recent event at Guildhall.
Protestors demonstrated outside the building, but when some individuals began blocking entrances and roads, the force acted.
The force used Section 14 of the Public Order Act to limit protestors to an allocated area. This meant the demonstrators could continue to have their voice heard, but without seriously disrupting the life of the community.
The force is taking a similar approach to the protest camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral: facilitating peaceful protest while minimising disruption to those who live, work or visit the City. Our role is to liaise with local businesses, the Cathedral and protestors to continue to find that balance.
The law does not give police the power to remove the protest camp unless it causes significant disruption to the local community. The City of London Corporation is currently undertaking legal action to remove tents from the area, but that activity does not change the police’s responsibility to maintain law and keep the City safe.
