Around 100 demonstrations are expected to break out across the country this evening, and now the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, has waded into discussions about the safety of parliamentarians. It emerged today that GP surgeries are shutting up early, businesses are boarding up windows and private City firms are advising employees to leave the office. Politicians have also been told they should consider working from home instead of their constituency offices.
In a letter to MPs, Hoyle advised those whose offices are ‘prominent and easily identifiable’ to consider their security protocols. The Commons Speaker wrote:
We note the spontaneity and unpredictable nature of the disorder and would therefore encourage Members and their offices to exercise caution. Publicly available information suggests that a range of locations associated with immigration and asylum assistance are due to be subject to demonstrations on Wednesday 7 August at 8pm. The Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) have reached out to Members who have offices in close proximity to these planned demonstrations, to make them aware.
He added: ‘In the event of an emergency, don’t hesitate to call 999.’ Crikey.
The news comes as far-right Telegram channels continue to circulate a PDF file from 2012 advising those planning to riot on ‘what you need to know to walk free’ from arrest – produced with the help of ex-BNP chairman Nick Griffin. The document makes the rather unfounded assertion that: ‘In the eyes of the Politically Correct police, being white makes you a suspect, being English makes you guilty’ – before listing tips for those that may find themselves vis-à-vis with the police. Meanwhile, Mr S notes the rise of increasingly anti-semitic posts appearing in Telegram discussions of the riots. Good heavens…
In an update nobody asked for, eco-activist group Just Stop Oil has announced it will halt its own protests during the ongoing disorder in the UK. The climate zealots have instead made the rather abstract claim that ‘the civil unrest the country is experiencing is a taste of what science is telling us will happen, as climate chaos accelerates and makes the preservation of a stable society untenable.’ Top marks for trying to stay relevant…
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