Police hold pensioners over Heathrow protest t-****rts
On Saturday 31st May, three pensioners were stopped, at the Heathrow
bus station as they made their way by bus to Hatton Cross for the
peaceful demonstration against the expansion of Heathrow.
In the words of one of them:
=93We were five pensioners from Slough, changing buses at Heathrow bus
station on our way to the rally against the third runway. Three of us
were wearing T-****rts saying "Stop Air****t Expansion", but the police
stop and search rules say that dress cannot be used as a reason to
stop members of the public.
Nevertheless, police officers did stop us. The Heathrow bylaws, we
were informed, permit access to the bus station only to air passengers
or those meeting them. [**] Oddly, only the members of our party
wearing the T-****rts appeared to be in breach of these bylaws. We were
questioned, our details were recorded and we were forbidden access to
the air****t for 24 hours on threat of arrest if we did return. In one
case "demo - T-****rt" was recorded as the reason for the stop, but the
other records are inconsistent, referring
only to breach of the bylaws.
Thousands of people change buses at Heathrow daily and hundreds of
buses break the bylaws by carrying them. This restraint on trade is
usually ignored. But five officers took half an hour to take our
details, warn us and see us off the premises. We were given forms
headed "Metropolitan Police:
Working together for a safer London". Safer for whom?
John W=85=85. Slough, Berk****re (Guardian letters 3rd June)
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
[**] This means that every single person entering the Central Bus
Station and the bus stops at Hatton Cross and Terminal 4 and Terminal
5 are breaking the law unless he/she is a/ an air passenger or b/
meeting an air passenger.
Now I happen to know that many commuters use the the Central Bus
Station as an interchange between London Underground (to/from London)
and their local home towns. Also National Express (and other coach
companies) has a huge number of services going to/from Heathrow and
all points of the compass for passengers who are not actually
travelling by air at all. So are all these passengers breaking the
bylaws as well? I think the travelling public should be told one way
or the other.
CJB.
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