On 16 October 1993, an anti-racism march near
Welling in South East London turned violent, leading to large-scale clashes between police and protesters which left around 70 people injured. The march was intending to demand the closure of a bookshop which was the headquarters of the
British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK go ...
(BNP).
Background
The BNP opened an office in a bookshop at 154 Upper Wickham Lane in Welling, South East London, in 1989, which served as the party's headquarters.
The local area saw a sharp increase in the number of racist attacks in the years following the opening of the office,
including the
murder of Stephen Lawrence in neighbouring
Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The thre ...
in April 1993, which had caused opposition to the bookshop to intensify.
In the same year, the BNP had its first local councillor elected, in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The march
On 16 October 1993, demonstrators gathered on
Winn's Common
Winn's Common is a public open space in Plumstead in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England.
History
Winn's Common is said to have been settled by ancient Britons. Several Bronze Age burial mounds were found in the area, as well as Roman relic ...
in
Plumstead
Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich.
History
Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic county of Kent and the detail of much of its early history can ...
, South East London,
for a demonstration co-ordinated by the
Anti-Nazi League and
Youth against Racism in Europe.
Estimates for the number of demonstrators range from 15,000
to 45,000.
They planned to march to the BNP bookshop in Welling to demand its closure,
but the initial route passing directly past the property was blocked by
Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Paul Condon
Paul Leslie Condon, Baron Condon, (born 10 March 1947) is a British retired police officer. He was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1993 to 2000.
Education
Condon read Jurisprudence at St Peter's College, Oxford and was made ...
.
The protesters left and headed towards
Welling, via the main road that passed through
East Wickham. The march started peacefully, but as the protesters approached the bookshop, the road was completely blocked by riot police.
The
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...
had set up a wide exclusion zone around the bookshop that began in at the bottom of the hill in East Wickham, just before the main road entered Welling.
At this point a large police contingent of riot and mounted police tried to divert the march at an intersection with an adjourning road, away from the bookshop. Soon the protest escalated into violence, which led to large-scale clashes between the police and some of the protesters.
During clashes lasting 90 minutes, police used
truncheons and horseback charges,
which was criticised as indiscriminate by organisers of the march.
The march was eventually abandoned.
Aftermath
74 people were injured in the riots, including 12 police officers.
The clashes were the most serious civil disorder in London since the
poll tax riots in 1990.
The
Metropolitan Police spent £1 million and 7,000 officers to police the event.
Many of the protesters were arrested and charged, including
Duwayne Brooks, a friend of Stephen Lawrence who had been with him at the time of his murder.
The case against Brooks was eventually dismissed by a judge.
The bookshop in Welling was eventually closed down by
Bexley Council in 1995.
External links
ITN news coverage of the event
References
{{Riots in England
British National Party
Protest marches
Political riots
Riots in London
October 1993 events in the United Kingdom