The very widely-reported forced-entry by police into Westminster Quaker Meeting House on 27 March has caused NFPB concern and alarm.
We uphold those directly affected by this incident and those:
– seeking to find nonviolent ways of expressing legitimate dissent to pressing issues of peace and climate justice;
– working for change to the punitive legislation that makes it increasingly difficult to protest in a way that remains within the law.
Quaker Meeting Houses primarily serve as places for Quaker worship. Many Meeting Houses are also valued as spaces for people to meet for other purposes, such as providing services and activities, for worship by other faiths, to learn, to build community and undertake a range of activities that promote peace, justice and planet-care. Quakers normally expect hirers to adhere to certain rules including a commitment to nonviolence. We feel that the nature of the large-scale police presence and forced entry into such a place, followed by arrests, on 27 March, raises significant questions about policing and public order legislation in the UK.
Our hope is that, from this incident, the UK government and police authorities around the country will reconsider an approach that increasingly criminalises people seeking a better world, instilling fear and uncertainty amongst those who care deeply for the planet and its inhabitants.
From Quakers in Britain:
Quakers condemn police raid on Westminster Meeting House – 28 March 2025
Quakers call for rights to be restored after police raid on Westminster Meeting House – 1 April 2025
Media coverage of Westminster Meeting House police raid – 3 April 2025
7 actions to take now to defend our right to protest – 10 April 2025
From civil liberties advocacy organisation, Liberty – Protest rights