Met Police Raid Quaker Meeting House, Arrest Six Over Protest Plans

The unprecedented raid on a historic place of worship has drawn criticism over police powers and the criminalization of non-violent activism.

The Metropolitan Police forcibly entered a Quaker meeting house in Westminster on March 27, arresting six women attending a Youth Demand meeting on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
The women, aged 18 to 38, were discussing non-violent resistance actions planned for April, with the meeting publicly advertised as a welcome event.
The Quakers condemned the raid as an aggressive violation of their place of worship and an attack on democratic freedoms, marking the first arrests in a Quaker meeting house in living memory.
Police defended their actions by citing Youth Demand's plans to disrupt London with tactics like roadblocks, stating their responsibility to prevent serious disruption and criminality.
All six women have been released on bail, with one facing no further action, as the incident fuels broader debates over stricter protest laws enacted in recent years.