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Broadwater Farm (Police Raid)

01 January 1991

Broadwater Farm (Police Raid)
artdoc May=1991
House of Commons written answer 3.11.89 Col.367

Mr. Bernie Grant asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department
if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the
Metropolis as to how many police officers and other personnel were used in
the raid on Broadwater Farm by the police on Friday 29 September; if any
armed police officers were used; how many press, radio and television
journalists accompanied the police, and representing which newspapers,
radio and television stations; how many observers accompanied the police
and from where; what briefing was given to the observers and the press by
the police; and where and for how long the observers and the press were
kept incommunicado.

Mr. Peter Lloyd: I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the
Metropolis that 229 police officers were involved in the operation but none
of them was armed. Eight media organisations accompanied the police.
There were four personnel (one reporter, three crew) from Independent
Television News, three (one reporter, two crew) from BBC News, two (one
reporter, one photographer) from the Press Association, and one journalist
from each of The Mail on Sunday. BBC Radio News, the News of the World,
the Tottenham and Hornsey Journal and Independent Radio News. Four
observers accompanied the police, of which three were members of the
Haringey police liaison committee and the fourth was the director of
criminal justice studies at Reading university. All the observers and the
media representatives were present throughout the entire main briefing
given to the police officers at the police training centre at Hendon. They
were incommunicado from the time they joined police early on the morning
of 29 September until about 5 pm that afternoon when the operation
commenced.