A woman has been arrested on suspicion of assault after a Restore Britain campaigner was punched during a confrontation with anti-racism protesters in north London.
The incident happened on Saturday morning as supporters of Rupert Lowe’s party were campaigning in Camden for Restore Britain’s Holborn and St Pancras by-election candidate, Tyler Johnson.
According to the Metropolitan Police account reported by The Telegraph, a Restore Britain canvasser was punched during the confrontation and a woman was arrested on suspicion of assault.
Police also dealt with a separate incident involving coffee.
A man told officers that an unknown person struck his hand, causing coffee he was holding to spill onto his leg. Police said there were no visible injuries, although officers took him to hospital as a precaution.
That detail matters because subsequent descriptions of what happened have been considerably stronger.
Lowe says campaigners risk being ‘scalded with boiling liquid’
Following the incident, Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe announced that the party had cancelled a planned campaigning session in Holborn and St Pancras on Sunday.
“Remarkably, we are now in the position where our campaigners can’t congregate in our capital city without the fear of being scalded with boiling liquid.”
He said a donor had offered to pay for the leaflets to be delivered instead and that Restore would employ private security for future campaigning events in the by-election.
Lowe also said he would write to the Metropolitan Police about its handling of the incident and suggested that proscribing violent groups involved in anti-racist campaigning as terrorist organisations was becoming “increasingly justified”.
However, the police account reported so far does not say that anybody threw boiling liquid over a campaigner.
It says that someone struck the man’s hand, causing the coffee he was already holding to spill onto his leg.
That does not make striking him acceptable, but it is a materially different description of what happened.
Restore campaigners surrounded
The confrontation took place near Camden Town Underground station, where around 15 Restore Britain supporters had gathered at approximately 10am, according to Socialist Worker.
It reported that around 30 Stand Up To Racism supporters then approached the group chanting anti-racist and anti-fascist slogans.
Its account – written openly in support of the counter-protest – says Restore campaigners were surrounded and “forced” to retreat along Camden High Street, with some taking refuge inside a shop before police arrived.
Those details are notable because they confirm that the confrontation went considerably further than two groups simply campaigning alongside one another.
Stand Up To Racism denies carrying out attack
Stand Up To Racism has denied that its members attacked Restore campaigners.
The organisation said it had confronted people it described as “neo-Nazi Restore activists” and accused Restore of attempting to “play victim”.
SUTR had published an investigation two days earlier alleging links between figures involved in the Restore campaign and people with histories in far-right organisations.
Socialist Worker, meanwhile, celebrated the Restore group being driven from the area and quoted activists saying fascists should not be allowed to organise or distribute literature.
Political violence is still political violence
Whatever the political views of those involved, punching someone because they are campaigning for a political party is not a legitimate form of political disagreement.
Nor would deliberately throwing scalding liquid over somebody be acceptable.
But there is an equally important distinction between condemning what happened and exaggerating what is known to have happened.
At present, police have confirmed an alleged punch and an arrest.
They have also recorded an allegation that another man’s hand was struck, resulting in his own coffee spilling onto his leg.
That is not the same as somebody deliberately throwing “boiling liquid” over him.
The investigation continues.
The Holborn and St Pancras by-election takes place on 8 October, following Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation as the constituency’s MP. Fifteen candidates are standing, including Restore Britain’s Tyler Johnson, according to ITV News.
