Last Thursday, reports emerged of 20 officers from London’s Met Police breaking their way into a Quaker Meeting House and arresting six women. Coming in the wake of reports of a mob of police arresting parents for criticising the hiring policies of their child’s school, this seemingly heavy handed intervention looked like another crackdown on free speech and democratic expression. But just a little digging into the claims reveals a very different story.
The news brought a rush of complaints about free speech. “I don’t care where you are on the political spectrum,” tweeted Matt Goodwin, “everybody in Britain has the right to sit in peace and discuss their political concerns.” The Mail exclaimed that: “Dozens of Metropolitan Police officers battered down a door to arrest six women at a Quaker meeting group while they were discussing climate change and Gaza.” The police action was met with outrage from Left to Right, including those who are typically diametrically opposed to the positions assumed by these Quakers.
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