What does mob rule look like on the streets of Britain? Anyone who peeked out their window on Saturday afternoon in the vicinity of Evan Cook Close in Peckham, South-East London, already knew the answer.
‘I never expected to see anything like this,’ one local said, expressing the thoughts of many who witnessed the spectacle.
However, you may find out for yourself by searching for ‘Evan Cook Close’ on Google. Film footage circulated on social media shows outmanned cops being surrounded by hundreds of yelling demonstrators.
Ironically, the videos, coupled with a deluge of messages from Left-wing groups, politicians, and activists, were intended to cast the Metropolitan Police in the worst possible light, accusing them of deploying harsh tactics against innocent, law-abiding protesters.
One short film was accompanied by the caption ‘Police Brutality.’
It shows officers being violently shoved and abused by the crowd, and officers attempting to remove individuals who had fallen to the ground in the melee for their own safety in the midst of the chaos.
So, what was the alleged injustice that led to the chaos?
Officials from the Home Office had arrived just moments before to apprehend a suspected illegal immigrant, a Nigerian from Lagos who had overstayed his visa.
However, demonstrators encircled the van that was transporting him to a deportation center. As a result, police reinforcements are required.
They chanted, ‘Let him go, let him go.’ That is exactly what happened four hours later, soon before 5.30 p.m. Instead of being transferred to an immigration detention center, the suspect was freed on bail.
‘People power triumphs,’ tweeted the Anti-Raids Network. In the United Kingdom, is it people power or anarchy?
In any case, a group of Leftist demonstrators succeeded in corrupting the democratic process on Saturday afternoon, despite the fact that their views are not held by the vast majority of the population.
Because of the tumultuous times we live in, events in Peckham may not have hit the front pages, but the outcome must have left many wondering who is in power of the country right now.
It comes amid a “deluge of legal claims” filed by human rights lawyers to prevent Channel migrants from being placed on the first flight to Rwanda today, according to a Home Office source.
The alleged illegal immigrant at the center of the Peckham riot is thought to be single. He’s described as a’very kind, very respectable man in his late 30s’ by his neighbors. We don’t know much about him other that he went by the name “James” and was a member of a local church.
Let us accept, however, that he was a decent and well-liked member of the community. Nonetheless, the number of foreign citizens overstaying their visas in the United Kingdom has roughly doubled in the last five years, which is commonly regarded as a big issue.
In 2016-2017, 49,420 migrants overstayed their visas, according to Migration Watch. According to a research by the think-tank, the figure had climbed to 91,863 by 2019/20.
Furthermore, nearly 10,000 migrants have already crossed the English Channel this year, more than double the 4,200 who did so by the same point in 2021.
Apart from the types of groups represented in Peckham at the weekend, almost everyone feels that an effective immigration policy is necessary.
The removal of ‘overstayers,’ as harsh as it may appear at times, is a crucial component. In Evan Cook Close, immigration officers and eventually the police were prevented from doing exactly that.
So, what was the ostensible cause of the chaos?
Officials from the Home Office had arrived just moments before to apprehend a suspected illegal immigrant, a Nigerian from Lagos who had overstayed his visa.
Protesters, on the other hand, surrounded the van carrying him to a deportation center. As a result, additional police officers have been dispatched.
‘Let him go, let him go, let him go, let him go, let him go, let him go, let him go, let him go, let him go, let him That’s exactly what happened four hours later, just before 5.30 p.m. Instead of being taken to an immigration detention center, the suspect was freed on bail.
A group called Anti-Raids Network tweeted, ‘People power wins.’ In the United Kingdom, is it people power or chaos?
In any case, a group of Leftist protesters succeeded in undermining the democratic process on Saturday afternoon, despite the fact that their views are not shared by the vast majority of the electorate.
Because of the tumultuous times we live in, events in Peckham may not have made the front pages, but the result must have left many people wondering who is in charge of the country right now.
It comes amid a ‘deluge of legal claims’ filed by human rights lawyers to prevent Channel migrants from being placed on the first flight to Rwanda today, according to a Home Office source.
he suspected illegal immigrant at the centre of the Peckham protest is believed to live alone. He’s described as a’very kind, very respectable man in his late 30s’ by his neighbors. We don’t know much about him other that he went by the name “James” and was a member of a local church.
Let us accept, however, that he was a decent and well-liked member of the community. Nonetheless, the number of foreign citizens overstaying their visas in the United Kingdom has roughly doubled in the last five years, which is commonly regarded as a big issue.
In 2016-2017, 49,420 migrants overstayed their visas, according to Migration Watch. According to a research by the think-tank, the figure had climbed to 91,863 by 2019/20.
Furthermore, nearly 10,000 migrants have already crossed the English Channel this year, more than double the 4,200 who did so by the same point in 2021.
Apart from the types of groups represented in Peckham at the weekend, almost everyone feels that an effective immigration policy is necessary.
The removal of ‘overstayers,’ as harsh as it may appear at times, is a crucial component. In Evan Cook Close, immigration officers and eventually the police were prevented from doing exactly that.
After officials arrived to arrest ‘James,’ they were ambushed by political agitators and a number of local politicians, who utilized the power of social media to bring an estimated 200 individuals — a rent-a-mob, perhaps a better word — to the estate. James McAsh and Reginald Popoola, both Labour Southwark councillors, played pivotal parts in the subsequent drama.
McAsh, a primary school teacher and self-described Marxist, asked his 15,000 Twitter followers to ‘get down ASAP…’ at 3.05 p.m. Please RT [retweet] or forward this message to others.’
Popoola, who works in Brent Council’s legal department, issued his own rallying cry, according to his LinkedIn profile. ‘A police immigration raid is currently taking place in our ward.
‘I’m here with over 100 other people,’ he wrote in his message. ‘Block the vehicle from abducting one of our neighbors – join us on Evan Close SE15 right now!’
Veteran Corbyn supporter Shelly Asquith, a Trades Union Congress employee, made a similar argument. ‘Get down, Peckham folks,’ she tweeted. ‘Don’t let them take our neighbors away!!!’
In fact, none of James’ actual neighbors were involved in the heinous acts. Residents we spoke with said they were unaware of the protest until it became violent.
This is how a perfectly legal immigration enforcement action devolved into a near-riot. A poster from the aforementioned Anti-Raids Network advising individuals ‘question’ immigration authorities going about their job was among the materials shared by protestors at the site. It warns them, ‘Don’t walk by!’
‘You are not required to answer any questions,’ the suspects are told. You are not obligated to let them in… If you aren’t being detained, try to flee.’ An image of a guy fleeing on foot accompanied this advise.
The Anti-Raids Network portrays itself as a “loose network of groups and individuals trying to create resistance to immigration raids [arresting persons accused of breaching the law] since 2012,” according to its website. The organization, which was founded by London-based groups such as No Borders and Stop Deportation, is opposed to “all immigration regulations.”
Local groups of the Anti-Raids Network in Lewisham, Southwark, and Lambeth began tweeting frantically at 1pm on Saturday to mobilize activists.
‘After four hours of protest and a throng of 200 people, they’re letting our neighbor go!’ the group gloated at 5.18pm. The organization held a ‘community building event’ at a local cafe last night, complete with ‘anti-raids training, shared dinner, and live music.’
Another campaign group, Solidarity Knows No Borders, organized a ‘week of action’ of protests, picnics, and workshops across the country this week.
The protest in Peckham is similar to one held last year in Glasgow, where police were compelled to release two men seized by immigration agents after a stand-off with hundreds of locals who encircled their van in a residential street.
What such organisations — including the councillors who encouraged people to descend on Evan Cook Close — want to do is brand everybody who does not share their radical beliefs as a bigot or a racist.
This is especially true of a group of left-wing law firms that have contested the government’s Rwanda policy. It’s all part of the same larger story.
Those facing deportation, for example, are always portrayed as victims: victims of modern slavery, a defense now being used by some who claim they have been exploited or trafficked by criminal gangs; victims of an authoritarian state that is breaking up families by deporting fathers; or victims of a brutal policy comparable to the Windrush scandal.
Last year, these were some of the “reasons” used to prevent convicts from being deported to Jamaica.
In 2018, the deportation of a Somali man was abruptly halted due to a mutiny by passengers on a Heathrow-bound flight who intervened to assist him. ‘Take him off the plane,’ passengers who felt sorry for the man screamed in a video of the incident. The four-member Home Office crew had no choice except to abandon the deportation and remove him from the plane.
A lengthy investigation into what went wrong is thought to have contributed to the eight-month wait before officials attempted a new deportation.
It was then revealed that the Somalian in question had been convicted of rape and sentenced to nine years in prison with three other men in 2007 for a horrible gang attack on a 16-year-old girl. Later, it was revealed that he had cost the taxpayers £300,000 in legal and incarceration fees.
Another set of figures from Migration Watch emphasizes the need to address this issue. It is estimated that additional 25,000 people from 55 countries whose residents do not require a visa to enter the nation are staying here illegally in 2019/20, bringing the total to roughly 334,000.
‘It is unacceptable to prevent immigration enforcement teams from doing their job,’ a spokesperson for the Home Office said. ‘Blocking or hindering them will not prevent them from carrying out the responsibilities that the public expects of them.’
Is there anyone who disagrees with this, aside from the demonstrators that came to the streets in Peckham?
Josh White, Tim Stewart, and Lewis Pennock contributed additional reporting.