A man arrested for immigration crimes has been released on bail after protesters gathered in south-east London on Saturday for hours to block a van carrying him from leaving.
Videos posted on Twitter show a crowd of about 200 people sitting on the ground in front of a car in Peckham, while another video shows members of the public standing and shouting “let it go”.
Metropolitan police officers were called to Evan Cook Close, near Queens Road Station, shortly after 1:30 pm, “for a signal for protesters, preventing immigration services,” and said the employees remained at the scene shortly before 5pm.
A spokesman for the force said: “Officers were present and found that the van was being prevented from leaving the scene.
“One man has been arrested for immigration crimes.”
The Metropolitan later said the man had been arrested by immigration officials and had since been released on bail.
Police are detaining activists who are trying to prevent an immigrant van from transporting a prisoner. Photo: Guy Smallman / Getty Images
Eleanor Janega, 39, from south-east London, told the PA news agency: “We were warned that an immigration attack was under way, so locals came down to block it.
“We were sitting here, blocking the van and having lollipops with ice.
“They brought in more police and tried to break through the crowd by pushing us. We all sat down. ”
Reginald Popula, a local Labor adviser, said people had “surrounded the van peacefully”, but some had been pushed out during the demonstration.
Popula added: “He has been released, the peaceful protest is powerful.
Claudia Webb, an independent MP from Leicester East, praised the protesters for their “humanity and solidarity” on Twitter:
“It’s the power of the people – it’s so beautiful to see.”
Lewisham Anti-Raids tweeted: “After 4 hours of resistance and a crowd of 200 people, they let our neighbor go! People’s power wins. We shout, “Don’t go back to Peckham!”
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