He added that the police raid apparently interrupted a counselling session and a life drawing class – “although fortunately they didn’t see the model”.
Youth Demand described the arrests as “an unprecedented level of police repression”.
‘Democracy has got to have some upsides’
The arrests led to an outcry, with former Downing Street director of communications Guto Harri telling Sunday Morning With Trevor Philips: “Democracy has got to have some upsides, and one of the upsides is that the police don’t come crashing through your door just because you say something that upsets someone.”
When Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was asked about it by Trevor Philips, she said: “We have a long tradition, not just of free speech, but of freedom of assembly.”
She added, however, that the police have operational independence and “the police need to operate independently from the home secretary”.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 