Police in Bristol have asked the organisers of an event being held around the empty plinth of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol city centre to get in touch with them in advance.
The event on Saturday is being billed as a march and is being held in 'celebration of Bristol's diverse activist community', and in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
The event was originally announced as a counter-protest against a planned demonstration by right-wing political party For Britain. Their leader Anne Marie Waters had called on supporters to gather at the Colston plinth on Saturday to demonstrate against Black Lives Matter and call for the statue of Edward Colston to be restored to the plinth.
Read more: For Britain postpone demo against Black Lives Matter at Colston plinth
But last weekend Bristol Live revealed that Ms Waters, who last month welcomed Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - aka Tommy Robinson as a For Britain member, had called off the demonstration. She cited a range of issues in that decision, from a lack of engagement and guarantees from Avon and Somerset police and the council to the prospect of the counter demonstration in support of Black Lives Matter being called two hours before the For Britain demo.
She said that she felt police could not guarantee the safety of the For Britain supporters, and that her movement was suffering from a lack of people willing to come out to demonstrate in support of it, in the face of opposition, although she did say that For Britain would be demonstrating in Bristol at some point in the future - 'when antifa doesn't know we're coming'.
Those behind the counter-demonstration said they still intended to hold their demonstration at 11am at the Colston Plinth, but turn it into a celebration instead. A new poster circulated on social media and in Bristol, calling for people to attend the 'anti-racist, anti-fascist' demo. "Not only has Tommy Robinson got himself nicked in Mexico, the racist party 'For Britain' have cancelled their demo on the 9th, due to the massive anti-fascist response in Bristol," it said. "Bristol Against Hate will still be holding our demo. We ask you to join us on a march, to show our solidarity with all Black Lives and to celebrate Bristol's diverse activist community," it added.
But Avon and Somerset police said the organisers of this demo had not engaged with police about it - and they would like to.
"Officers have messaged the accounts asking those behind them to get in touch but have not yet received any replies," a spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police said. "We’re keen to understand the numbers expected at the event and what the plans on the day are," they added.
Supt Mark Runacres is the area commander for Bristol, and said the prospect of a march and where it might go is the detail he'd most like to know. “Proportionate policing plans are in place in the event significant numbers gather in the city centre," he said. “People have the right to public assembly but we always want to work with the organisers of any large public gathering to ensure their event takes place safely.
“We’re also keen to understand their plans for the day, specifically if they intend to march, so that we can advise those who live, work or plan on visiting the city and minimise the disruption to them. As part of our plans for Saturday specialist police liaison officers will be in the centre alongside their neighbourhood colleagues looking to speak directly with anyone who gathers.
“But we’d always prefer to have some engagement in advance and so we’d ask those who’ve arranged Saturday’s event to email us on policeliaisonteam@avonandsomerset.police.uk," he added.
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