Another protest and another opportunity to photograph human emotion, which is really what it is all about for me. I think a lot of photographers go to these events in the hope that trouble may kick off and they manage to snap the violent shot from which they can make megabucks. I’d be lying if I said that it wouldn’t be nice! – The megabucks bit that is!
Indeed, to depress the shutter at exactly the right moment in precisely the right place is something that all photographers dream of, for whatever subject they are trying to capture. Whether that be a smile on someone’s face, or a moment of special light in a landscape. We all chase the perfect shot.
Anyway, I digress. Back to my story about Luton last Saturday. I decided that I would travel down from Hull, on a United Against Fascism (UAF) organised coach. We met outside the University of Hull and loaded up. Seats were supposed to be full, but only 20 or so dedicated people arrived to take the protest down south. Apparently, for some, the fight against purported fascism can be suspended in favour of getting over the hangover from the night before, or perhaps because it was raining that day and they didn’t fancy hanging around in the wet. The coach leader though was keen and didn’t appear take the lack of support personally.
From across the road, a man got out of a car that had been parked up and walked across to the coach door. He claimed to be a police officer, although showed no identification and asked the young organiser to have a word with him, which happened outside of the coach and out of my hearing. When ‘John’ (we’ll call him that to protect his identity) got back inside again, he told me that the officer had warned him that there was an English Defence League (EDL) sponsored coach ahead of us, just leaving Hull, but that we shouldn’t have any problems. I suppose if both coaches had decided to stop at the same toilet stop on the M1, then there could be have been a problem, but as it happens, some planning had gone into the occasion and nothing untoward occurred on the way down to Luton.
The nearer we got to Luton, the more coaches we began to see on the motorway. We found ourselves leapfrogging with a few EDL coaches. Several members of the party on our coach started jeering and waving at these coaches as we passed, whilst the EDL travellers in similar manner, yet with much more vehemence, pulled ‘moonies’ and even though we couldn’t hear them, left us in no doubt as to what we could do with ourselves and where they would like us go. I also got the distinct impression that we were being promised a high level of physical harm should the opportunity present itself.
All coaches were divided off between rival parties by the police and escorted in convoys into Luton to the two designated assembly areas. One for the EDL in St. George’s Square and the other for the UAF in Park Square. I left the coach and the UAF supporters on it with a promise to be back by 16:30 hours. As it was now after noon when we disembarked, I didn’t feel like I had much time to reccy the area and get the pictures I wanted. Still a lack of time can cause certain amount of creative pressure and under such pressure, I have found that the pictures can be more spontaneous and all the better for it.
I walked down to Park Square and took a few placement shots, marking that there did not seem to be many people there. Having said that, coaches were still arriving, so maybe the area would fill up. I certainly hoped so. I decided at that point to head towards the EDL meeting area and determine how far away St.Georges Square was. Not too far as it happens, yet what made it awkward, were the large police barriers sealing off certain streets and forcing me to take a circuitous route, that took me considerably longer.
I worked my way around to a meeting pointjust outside the Railway Tavern and took a few shots of people with banners and signs as they arrived. I always ask if I can shoot, if there is the opportunity. I could have just started snapping as there were plenty of police around who would have probably stepped in had there been a problem, but I have found by experience that all sides at these types of events respond better if you have a smile on your face and ask first if there is the opportunity. This goes for the EDL who are suspicious of the press, the UAF who are suspicious of anyone with a camera (at least they were at Bolton! – They were the only ones to demand to see my press pass at Bolton. Not even the police did that!) and finally it goes too for the police, who probably quite understandably are wary of people with cameras who can cause a lot of grief (and quite rightly so) if they make a mistake.
I worked my way through a tightly packed crowd of EDL supporters flanked by lines of police, all of whom were carrying riot helmets, but not wearing them. Presumably to pose a less threatening presence. I had a quick look around and decided that there were too many photographers and they had taken all of the best spots, so I walked under the rail bridge and took up a position where I would be face on the the oncoming march when it started, but would be in a relatively safe position in the middle of a small central traffic island.
I heard a roar from the crowd as it set off and a line of at least 8 police horses with riders approached from under the bridge, followed by dozens of police who were forming a ‘plug’ across the street to control the pace of the march. We were forced back quickly to keep being trampled on by horses and police and I didn’t manage to get any decent shots there. I cut my losses and made my way quickly further on down the route to find a better position. I found one and was ecstatic! It was a short pillar of steele, around 3 feet high, topped with a steel sheet, measuring about 12 inches square and just big enough to stand on. This had a normal pedestrian barrier running in front of it to give added protection from the marching crowd. None of the police officers had a problem with me standing on it and so I smugly waited for the procession to arrive. It was a good spot and I filled up a lot of pixels as the EDL ranks marched by. Some obviously did not like having their picture taken, hiding their faces and shouting abuse at me, but the general majority had no problem and were happy to play up good naturedly to the camera.
After the crowd of EDL were safely esconced in St. George’s Square, I decided to go back to the UAF and catch up on developments there. I took a few more placement shots of the increasing crowd and noticed that there was movement on the other side of the square. I don’t know what it is, maybe a sixth sense, but you get to be able to ‘feel’ that something is about to happen. I instinctively started to move and ran through the police lines, to take up position on a small wall, enclosing a planter right in front of where UAF protesters were beginning to face off against police. Apparently, as I learned afterwards, there had been a rumour that EDL supporters were attacking a mosque and this had caused the UAF to try and break out of the police lines in order to get to the mosque. It could have succeeded as the police seemed at first to be undermanned at that point, but there were not enough of the UAF and more drifted off as the police response grew stronger. I got some of my best pictures of the day at that incident. With the red flags bearing the word ‘Revolution’ flying and the horses forming a barrier to the crowd, it reminded me of images from the Russian revolution. I am looking forward to working on those images further.
I went back to St. Georges Square and stood behind the speakers platform watching the EDL crowd as they listened to an American speaker called Rabbi Shifren who was giving out his particular fiery brand of propaganda and rousing the crowd to action. All of this was being filmed by a police cameraman in the front row, presumably to be viewed at leisure, later on, to decide whether there had been any racist encitement that had broken the law and would lead to criminal charges.
Yet after this, the crowd was dismissed and allowed to break up and wander back presumably to the train station and coach park. I spoke to one guy who had approached me with I think the purpose of warning me that there were some in the crowd who quite happily give me a going over and smash my cameras. He reeked of stale beer. I know that because he insisted on talking to me directly into my face from about an inch away. Yet he was affable enough and I told him that I take pictures that try to the tell the story as it is, not as I want it to be or how I think the majority of people want it to be. Truth is the name of the game isn’t it? Or am I being naiive? I left him to his ramblings and headed back to the coach pick up point.
Would you believe it, there was another rumour about a mosque being attacked and the whole process of crowd pushing against police lines happened again! Some more good pictures here, but I was a bit pissed off with a couple of the police who took a dislike to me. From my point of view it happened this way. I was photographing a line of police, linked together and preventing protestors breaking out and presumably running off and attacking the EDL at a postcode some distance away. Unbeknown to me a policeman complete with horse was behind me and was shouting for me to move. Now I had a camera to my eye and my back to the horse, it was also very loud with many people shouting and causing a general high level of noise, so I ask in all fairness, how was I supposed to know what he wanted me to do? What do you think he did? – Perhaps move to another position so that I could see him? – No. – Perhaps get one of his colleagues on ‘Shanks’s Pony’ to enlighten me? – No. – What he decided to do was ram me with the horse! – Have you ever been rammed by a horse? Unexpectedly? Well it’s a bit of a shock. And I think for the other drifting members of the UAF who were standing around it was also a bit of a shock. There was a sharp intake of breath from them that was audible to me amidst all of that noise and several asked me if I was OK as it had appeared that the horse may have kicked me.
I was OK thankfully, although I shouted to the officer asking him why he had rammed me? He told me he’d shouted at me to move and I hadn’t. He had no answer to my observation that in all practicality how could I have possible known that it was me he was shouting at, when there were probably a 100 people in the vicinity who were more likely to being the target of any police shouting commands?! To add insult to injury, I was then ‘manhandled’ by another officer (on foot this time) who dragged me away from my post saying “Let me help you!” or words to that effect. I told him that I didn’t need any help thank you, but he insisted anyway and then when I told him I was a member of the press, he merely shouted at me to stay away and that he “knew my face”, the insinuation being that I would be arrested if I came back into his sphere of influence. In both these instances, I deny I was in the way, as the action was in front of me and I was behind the police lines who were doing very nicely by themselves thank you!
I suppose the main thing is that I and my equipment survived unscathed. However, I do wonder at the broad spectrum of police behaviour, although I must say that the majority seem to perfectly willing to be reasonable. Do you know, I was actually offered a slice of pizza by one pleasant officer, presumably paid for from the £800,000 it cost to police the event? And they say we are going to have more protests during this time of austerity! That’s an unintended consequence of the cuts is it not?
We loaded back on to the coaches and were once again escorted and ‘whisked’ through the roads of Luton to be safely waved off at the junction with the M1. I’m sure that the people of Luton and the police were waving and cheering as we went. I reflected on the coach home, thankful to be in one piece. I had not been beaten sensless by the EDL, I had not been flattened to mush by over half a ton of horsemeat (plus rider), I had not been crushed by the UAF, battoned by police nor fallen off my precarious perch and broken an ankle. So that was good. But as I thought about it, I asked myself what had it all been about? – “Dunno!” is the short answer.
Perhaps the long answer could be – The right to march and protest and to have one’s say – and the right to counter march and protest and have one’s say – and the duty to make sure it goes off lawfully and peacefully – and the right to record and report the whole episode no matter what.
Oh what games we humans play.
I’m glad I avoided the whole town centre, great photos though.