Refused Asylum Seekers are not given any shelter or accomodation by the Government. Ben and Ben will be sleeping at Parliament Square each night in tents.
Peace Protester Brian Haw has lived at Parliament Square since June 2001 and welcomes Ben and Ben to join him.
A recent law (sections 132-138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005) banned protest within 1 km of Parliament, but recently the Government has decided to repeal these sections:
“Managing Protest around Parliament: The Government proposes the repeal of sections 132-138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Repeal of these sections will remove the requirement to give notice of demonstrations in the designated area around Parliament. It will also remove the offence for such demonstrations to be held without the authorisation of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner. “ ‘The Governance of Britain – Constitutional Renewal’, March 2008
Having spoken to the Special Events Team at Charing Cross Police Station, it was explained that sections 132-138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 are “still in play” until they have actually been repealed.
It was also pointed out that there is are local byelaws banning the erection of tents at Parliament Square. We will be sleeping at Parliament Square in solidarity with those many thousands of destitute Asylum Seekers. This is a fundamental part of our protest and campaign. We will therefore join Brian Haw’s protest having the same concerns about how Britain treats foreigners, whether abroad or in our country.
To find out more about sleeping at Parliament Square, read our blog post about it here.
