Member-only story
“Speakers Corner, the Diamond in our Free Speech crown”
On the wet and cold evening of Thursday 7th March 2019 the hardened regulars of Speakers Corner attended the second meeting of the Speakers Corner forum in the Old Police House in the middle of Hyde Park. We met with representatives from The Royal Parks, Westminster City Council and the Metropolitan Police, including PC Steve Barnes, our regular ‘copper at the corner’.
Most groups were represented at the meeting, though unfortunately only two Muslims attended, with none of the regular well known speakers turning up despite being invited. Considering their large presence and impact at the Corner this was puzzling. One wonders why they would not have attended to ensure their voice is heard and to be able to influence the future of the Corner?
PC Barnes started the meeting by reporting a marked reduction in the amount of reported crime at the Corner during the last three months, since our first meeting on 18 November 2018. Since that meeting, only nine crimes have been reported, a significant decrease from last year. Of these nine reported crimes, six had been reported by third parties having watched videos on social media, and for all of these no offence was found to have been committed. Three common assaults were reported which led to two arrests. All three led to exclusion notices, two for six months and one for 12 months…
