Another account of an unwarranted stop-and-search and an unlawful arrest of a person looking like a protester on the ‘special day’ April 29th. Bit that hits home is the point about how the media just reiterate the official police line, or even unofficial claims made by police or police social media.

After another few minutes, I was grabbed by a TSG officer who informed me that because we were in possession of “climbing gear” we were to be arrested to prevent a breach of the peace.

The BBC and the Guardian have both faithfully repeated the climbing gear claim as fact. There was none. There was nothing that anyone could reasonable have mistaken for climbing gear. There seems to have been no attempt by these media outlets to ascertain the accuracy of that police claim.

I wonder how close I was to being arrested just yesterday when I and a couple of friends walked past downing street with our rucksacks and a gun-toting police officer loudly asked another gun-toting police officer if he thought we were concealing climbing gear, I wonder if it would have even mattered that all I was concealing was some sunglasses and dirty clothes…