Police are braced for widespread shows of disrespect at Baroness Thatcher’s funeral in a repeat of scenes at a Premier League football match on Saturday.
Scotland Yard confirmed that peaceful protests would not be challenged along the ceremonial route on Wednesday because it is not the police’s job to “uphold respect”.
Commander Christine Jones, the senior officer in charge of the public order operation, said protestors along the cortege’s two mile route from the Palace of Westminster to St Paul’s Cathedral would be allowed to make their views known, provided they did not break the law.
On Saturday night police were putting on a show of force in an attempt to discourage violent protests by groups who were gathering in Trafalgar Square to “re-enact” the Poll Tax riots of 1990.
Among those massing in the capital were anarchist and far-Left groups which have been planning for years to stage disruptions on the first Saturday following Lady Thatcher’s death.
However it is the possibility of insulting banners, jeering and booing which is now seen as the most likely challenge to the funeral passing peacefully and respectfully.
Yesterday some Liverpool fans at an away fixture in Reading sang and waved banners in mockery of Lady Thatcher. A number of fans danced in the stands at Reading’s Madejski Stadium, singing: “Let’s all do the conga, Maggie is no longer.”
They also chanted “Maggie’s dead, dead, dead,” and “Margaret Thatcher’s dead, and now we’re going to party.”
Lady Thatcher is a widely unpopular figure on Merseyside where her government was blamed for mass unemployment in the early 1980s. She was also prime minister at the time of the Hillsborough tragedy when 96 Liverpool fans died at an FA Cup semi-final on April 15, 1989 and there have been claims she was involved in covering up the truth of how it happened.
The footballing authorities had earlier decided not to observe a minute’s silence for Lady Thatcher amid fears it would likely be met with jeers and a mass showing of disrespect.
Commander Jones said of the police plans for Wednesday’s funeral: “The difficulty with all of this is we’re not there to uphold respect, we’re there to uphold the law.
“It is a fine balance. If people cross over from their peaceful protest to the environment where they are going to incite violence or crime we have to step in.
“We will do everything we can to make sure that everybody with a view of this event has the opportunity to come to London and either pay their respects or express an alternative view peacefully.”
She refused to be drawn on precisely what types of protest could lead to arrests but indicated the bar would be lower than on a day of an organised demonstration. “Primarily, this is a funeral,” she said.
The conduct of the Liverpool fans was in contrast to other sporting events which did hold a minute’s silence, including at a match between Wingate and Finchley Football Club, where Lady Thatcher was constituency MP for 33 years.
A minute’s silence was also held at Exeter Chief’s Premiership rugby match, where the vast majority of the crowd of 8,000 watching the game against London Irish observed it with respect.
There was some heckling, with one fan booing before being told to 'shut up’. Another yelled: “This is sport not politics.”
In Glasgow on Saturday afternoon, police stepped in when demonstrators attempted to set fire to an effigy of Lady Thatcher.
The 30-strong mob formed a conga line and sang 'Maggie Maggie Maggie, dead dead dead’ behind a crude cardboard cut-out of Lady Thatcher mounted on the back of a tricycle in George Square. Police moved to stamp out the flames and removed the Thatcher placard. No one was arrested.
In London yesterday large numbers of police were deployed in case of violence after anarchist groups including the so-called Black Bloc claimed they were planning to “party” in Trafalgar Square.
Specialist public order officers were also deployed as several hundred protestors targeted the home of Lord Freud, the work and pensions minister in north London on Saturday. They were protesting against welfare reforms, particularly benefit decreases for people on housing benefits who have spare bedrooms, dubbed the “bedroom tax” by its opponents.
Protestors also demonstrated at the Buckinghamshire home of Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, over Government reforms.
As part of the security preparations for Wednesday, specialist officers are due to begin a security sweep of premises along the funeral route.
St Paul’s itself is expected to be the subject of a highly detailed search, along with drains and sewers. More than 2,000 guests are due to attend the funeral, including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, all surviving former prime ministers and surviving members of Lady Thatcher’s Cabinets.
Although there is no specific terrorist threat, the greatest fear is of dissident Irish Republicans staging an attack. In a sign of an increasing tempo among security forces in Northern Ireland two men were being held yesterday after police seized a haul of suspected dissident weaponry including firearms, ammunition and a pipe bomb.
The cache was found when police rammed a car in Northland Road, in Londonderry at around 8pm on Friday.
Two men, aged 20 and 54, were arrested and other items, including a vehicle, were seized during follow-up searches at properties in the area.
Yesterday some Liverpool fans at an away fixture in Reading sang and waved banners in mockery of Lady Thatcher. A number of fans danced in the stands at Reading’s Madejski Stadium, singing: “Let’s all do the conga, Maggie is no longer.”
They also chanted “Maggie’s dead, dead, dead,” and “Margaret Thatcher’s dead, and now we’re going to party.”
Lady Thatcher is a widely unpopular figure on Merseyside where her government was blamed for mass unemployment in the early 1980s. She was also prime minister at the time of the Hillsborough tragedy when 96 Liverpool fans died at an FA Cup semi-final on April 15, 1989 and there have been claims she was involved in covering up the truth of how it happened.
The footballing authorities had earlier decided not to observe a minute’s silence for Lady Thatcher amid fears it would likely be met with jeers and a mass showing of disrespect.
Commander Jones said of the police plans for Wednesday’s funeral: “The difficulty with all of this is we’re not there to uphold respect, we’re there to uphold the law.
“It is a fine balance. If people cross over from their peaceful protest to the environment where they are going to incite violence or crime we have to step in.
“We will do everything we can to make sure that everybody with a view of this event has the opportunity to come to London and either pay their respects or express an alternative view peacefully.”
She refused to be drawn on precisely what types of protest could lead to arrests but indicated the bar would be lower than on a day of an organised demonstration. “Primarily, this is a funeral,” she said.
The conduct of the Liverpool fans was in contrast to other sporting events which did hold a minute’s silence, including at a match between Wingate and Finchley Football Club, where Lady Thatcher was constituency MP for 33 years.
A minute’s silence was also held at Exeter Chief’s Premiership rugby match, where the vast majority of the crowd of 8,000 watching the game against London Irish observed it with respect.
There was some heckling, with one fan booing before being told to 'shut up’. Another yelled: “This is sport not politics.”
In Glasgow on Saturday afternoon, police stepped in when demonstrators attempted to set fire to an effigy of Lady Thatcher.
The 30-strong mob formed a conga line and sang 'Maggie Maggie Maggie, dead dead dead’ behind a crude cardboard cut-out of Lady Thatcher mounted on the back of a tricycle in George Square. Police moved to stamp out the flames and removed the Thatcher placard. No one was arrested.
In London yesterday large numbers of police were deployed in case of violence after anarchist groups including the so-called Black Bloc claimed they were planning to “party” in Trafalgar Square.
Specialist public order officers were also deployed as several hundred protestors targeted the home of Lord Freud, the work and pensions minister in north London on Saturday. They were protesting against welfare reforms, particularly benefit decreases for people on housing benefits who have spare bedrooms, dubbed the “bedroom tax” by its opponents.
Protestors also demonstrated at the Buckinghamshire home of Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, over Government reforms.
As part of the security preparations for Wednesday, specialist officers are due to begin a security sweep of premises along the funeral route.
St Paul’s itself is expected to be the subject of a highly detailed search, along with drains and sewers. More than 2,000 guests are due to attend the funeral, including the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, all surviving former prime ministers and surviving members of Lady Thatcher’s Cabinets.
Although there is no specific terrorist threat, the greatest fear is of dissident Irish Republicans staging an attack. In a sign of an increasing tempo among security forces in Northern Ireland two men were being held yesterday after police seized a haul of suspected dissident weaponry including firearms, ammunition and a pipe bomb.
The cache was found when police rammed a car in Northland Road, in Londonderry at around 8pm on Friday.
Two men, aged 20 and 54, were arrested and other items, including a vehicle, were seized during follow-up searches at properties in the area.
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