Images released by police investigating offences during protests
The force are looking for 14 people
Detectives investigating alleged offences during protests in central London on Saturday, 16 May have released images of 14 people they want to identify.
There were 43 arrests on the day, which saw protests organised by the Palestine Coalition and other groups to mark the anniversary of the Nakba and a protest organised in the name of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon under the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ banner.
Five people have been charged so far and detectives are continuing to investigate a number of further offences including 20 alleged hate crimes. Some of those – for example incidents of chanting – may involve multiple suspects.
Officers have already sent a number of files to the Crown Prosecution Service for early investigative advice and they expect to submit further files for consideration in the near future.
Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, who commanded the policing operation on 16 May, said: “We have always said that the policing of protest doesn’t stop when everyone goes home.
“There are often many more protesters than there are officers at these events, which combined with the scale of the crowds means it is impossible for every offence to be seen and dealt with in the moment.
“Detectives from our Public Order Crime Team painstakingly review footage from events to spot offences and identify those they believe to be involved.
“The footage and images are compared against police databases using retrospective facial recognition technology, but where we are unable to find a match we will turn to the public for their help.
“I’d urge anyone who recognises someone in the 14 photos released today to come forward, that includes anyone who recognises themselves. Our officers need to speak to you.”
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