Climate camp press release, Police reply

Climate camp today issued a press release that accuses police of threatening to suspend liaison after police are refused entry to camp. The meeting with police went ahead as planned buy outside the camp gate. After the Climate Camp press release the Police issued their own press release and followed up on their twitter acount by denying that they had threatened to cease liaising with the camp.

The Climate Camp then said "Since this press release was sent, the police have contacted us to clarify their position. They have told us that they will continue to talk to our police liaison volunteers outside the Camp gates"

Camp for Climate Action: Press Release:

http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/press/2009/08/27/updated-statement-re-policing

The Camp for Climate Action have released the following statement to explain the current situation of policing at the Camp:

We have met with the police in the run-up to every Camp, including this one. We have explained to the police that our intentions are to spend a week holding workshops on climate change and climate action.

At 3:30pm today, people from the Camp for Climate Action met with Julia Pendry, Silver Commander of the Metropolitan Police outside the gates of the Camp at the police's request.

This followed an earlier demand from the police for access to the campsite. After campwide discussions, the following decision has been made:

We will meet with the police, and we will talk to the police, but we will do it outside the Camp. The reason for this is very simple: many people at the Camp have suffered violence, harassment and intimidation at the hands of the police, at events such as the Kingsnorth Camp and the G20 protests. Although the police have not used these tactics at this Camp so far, that doesn't mean that we are suddenly going to start trusting them. We take decisions as a whole Camp, and discussion is still ongoing, but at the moment, there is no reason for the police to come on site.

A lot of people from the community, and the media, have already visited the Camp, and will be able to confirm that it is a completely safe, friendly and welcoming space. Meanwhile, the police have mounted surveillance cameras and microphones on cranes and can see everything we are doing in here anyway. We currently feel that there is no reason for them to enter the site.

We have been open, honest and perfectly reasonable in our dealings with the police. We are saddened, but not surprised, that they are now threatening to cut off contact with our police liaison team. We feel this is an unreasonable response to our perfectly sensible position.

Finally, we encourage everyone else to come down to the Camp! The site is nearly complete, the main marquee is currently being erected and our fantastic workshops programme is due to begin tomorrow. See www.climatecamp.org.uk for the full run-down, and for details of the fantastic "Climate Casino" action that took place at the Climate Exchange on Bishopsgate this morning.

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MET Police Press Release:

27 August - Police and councils meet with Climate camp representatives

This afternoon representatives from Greenwich and Lewisham Council and Superintendent Julia Pendry, Silver for Operation Bentham, attended a meeting with representatives from the Climate Camp.

The meeting was pre-arranged and was designed to address some issues that both Councils wanted to raise about the Climate Camp being on common land managed by them.

On arrival Superintendent Pendry was refused access to the site despite previous agreement with the Camp Police Liaison team. As the meeting was so important the local councils and police compromised and allowed the meeting to go ahead outside the camp fence on this occasion.

It is hoped all parties can continue to work together.

http://cms.met.police.uk/news/major_operational_announcements/climate_camp_update

MET Police Twitter

Met have not said we will cut contact with camp police liaison team

http://twitter.com/CO11MetPolice