Met Police Faces Backlash Over Arrests at Youth Demand Meeting

The arrests of six individuals under protest legislation highlight growing tensions over civil liberties and policing in the UK.

Six people were arrested at a Youth Demand meeting at Westminster's Quaker Meeting House on March 27, marking the first such arrests at this location in living memory.
The Metropolitan Police cited the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, which has been criticized for criminalizing peaceful protest, as justification for the arrests.
Youth Demand's April 'shut it down' campaign began with a peaceful rally on April 1, calling for a trade embargo on Israel and criticizing the arrests.
A student journalist, among those arrested, described the experience as traumatic and reported that personal items, including electronics, were seized by the police.
The arrests and subsequent rally have intensified debates over the balance between protest rights and public safety, with critics accusing the police of overreach and suppression of civil liberties.