Gavin Grey: UK Correspondent says hundreds could be arrested after Palestine Action group banned in London

The UK Government has called the group Palestine Action ‘terrorists’ after members associated with the group were found on an RAF base. 

Palestine Action have organised a large protest in central London this weekend, but the Metropolitan Police are warning that anyone showing support for the group will be arrested.  

UK Correspondent Gavin Grey says that the predicted number of attendees at this protest will stretch police resources to their limit. 

LISTEN ABOVE 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devin Gray are UK correspondences with us Ello, Gevin, you're cruel,
you are. But he's used to it though, so you
know I've been stockholm syndering him in Heim for years. Gevin.
Now talk to me about Palestine Action and these dudes
are going to get arrested. Yes, the police are warning
exactly that. So Palestine Action is a group here that

(00:20):
supports Palestine and it is being ruled, however, to be
a terrorist group here in the UK over actions when
they damaged and broke into an RAF base and damaged
to RAF aeroplanes which infuriated the government as well as
slightly embarrassing them about the lack of security around the base.
But the group is saying to have a massive gathering

(00:42):
on Saturday tomorrow in London, and the Metropolitan Police are saying, look,
anyone sharing support for the group can expect to be arrested.
Now as it's being advertised that hundreds of people are
expecting to turn out for the demonstration, then this could
be messy and very busy. And there's also talk that
the group organizing the march and the gathering is saying,

(01:06):
let's really stretch the police resources that day to the
very limit. In other words, causing problems. That way, they've
denied that is their aim. By the way, they just
say it's a peaceful protest. But either way, this belonging
to this group, membership of this group, it is banned
under terrorism laws and that means that membership or support

(01:26):
for Palestine action is a criminal offense punishable buy up
to fourteen years in prison. Such as the strictness of
the terrorism legislation, Let's see exactly how the police cope
on Saturday. Incidentally, on Sunday, the British Board of the
Board of Deputies of British Jews is marching as well
onto Downing Street and they're angry at the government saying

(01:48):
it could recognize the Palestinian state. It's September. Now, what
is going on with the Chinese embassy? Do you think?
Very good question. When China put out plans for what
I can only describe as a super embassy in the
heart of the financial district in London, lots of people
were concerned and raising lots of questions about security. Now,

(02:10):
if it gets the go ahead, this super embassy in
the Royal Mint Court, in the heart of the UK's
financial institutions, there are fears for security because some believe
that China might try to infiltrate the UK's financial system
by tapping into fiber optic cables carrying very sensitive data
for firms in the City of London, all those financial

(02:32):
firms and so forth. This is a massive application because
it involves twenty thousand square meters. It would be the
largest embassy anywhere in Europe. There is a cultural center
in there housing for two hundred staff, but in the basement,
behind security doors, there are rooms which on the plans
have no identified use, and indeed large parts of the

(02:56):
plans are blacked out, you know, just just left blank.
And that is why the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner
has given China and its planning representatives two weeks to
explain why parts of its plans for a new mega
embassy have been blanked out. They want to know what
those blanks are and are demanding that before they go ahead,

(03:17):
even threatening that a new hard perimeter around the embassy site,
which the Chinese saying they need for security and to
prevent unregulated public access where that may need a separate
planning application as well. So this is not looking particularly
good for relations between the two countries. Kevin, Now do

(03:38):
you think that the Homelessness Minister was right to raise
the money that raised the rent or not? Well, there
are ways of raising rent on a property here that
have been really tightened up by the current government. They
are trying to make it much more life, much easier
for tenants and much harder for landlords, and it's been

(03:59):
one of their main key pledges in their manifesto that
they have acted on now they're in power. So when
the Homelessness Minister Russianara Alley was said in the newspaper
to have had a couple of places to rent out,
but one of them, she said that it was alleged

(04:20):
that she had moved tenants out of and then a
few weeks later relisted the property at a one four
hundred New Zealand dollars a month higher rental value. In
other words, that there was the allegation she'd deliberately kicked
out the tenants, got them out, waited a little bit
and then deliberately hiked the rent up. Now, of course

(04:41):
tenants and landlords can charge what they want, but in
this country it's illegal to kick people out in order
to put the rent up, like that, and so consequently
I think it was a matter of time before she
had to step down. And indeed she's also on homelessness charities,
so the opposition party saying she's got go for those
this is deep hypocrisy. Now she said, no, no, no,

(05:03):
What I was doing was I was trying to sell
the property. So I said to them, look I'm trying
to sell it. They moved out voluntarily. I couldn't sell
the property, so then I re rented it. But yes
I did put the price up. Either way, it looked
really bad on the government and really bad on her.
It really does. Kevin, You have yourself a lovely weekend.
We'll check to you on Monday. Look after yourself, Kevin Gray,
how are you k corresponding? For more from Hither Duplessy

(05:26):
Alan Drive, listen live to news talks. It'd be from
four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.