Locked in

The EDL visited Bradford today - my home town - and my intention was to be there not only to stand in solidarity with the people of Bradford against them but I was also keen to hear their speeches, particularly in the light of their two leaders leaving the organisation this week. I also wanted, as I have done in the past, to photograph their demonstration in detail.

Over the past year, in Tower Hamlets and Cambridge in particular I have been able to do just that: get close to their gathering so I could see and hear things very clearly whilst not being penned in with them. Not so in Bradford.

The EDL were meeting in a pub from 11am and they were then to be coralled into a small area outside the pub where they could hold their static demonstrations, wave their flags, shout, sing, listen to speeches blah blah blah blah until 2pm.

The police presence was massive and I found it totally impossible to gain access to the area adjacent to where they were coralled. In Cambridge and in Tower Hamlets the police had allowed for observers (for want of a better word) to watch and listen without being penned in. I tried several possible points of access but was blocked at every turn. I even tried the 'I'm a student photo-journalist' angle but that didn't work either. I also noticed that the police were scrutinising the press cards of photographers and other media folk extremely closely.

The police were also extremely keen to 'shepherd' anyone they considered to be potentially troublesome in the direction they wanted them to go.

So, I ended up by taking quite a few photos of lines of police, their horses and some of the gathering organised by Unite Against Fascism a little way away from where the EDL had gathered. All I saw of the EDL were several flags and heard an announcement 'Today is a new dawn for the EDL; a new beginning for a new EDL' and heard a couple of renditions of the National Anthem. Ironic, really, as the pub they were gathered in was called the Queen.

Freezing cold and damp, I then spent a couple of happy hours in the National Media Museum (formerly known as the National Museum of Film and Photography) and met up with another friend.