I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question. I hope that I can help him. Essex Police have issued a statement:
“There are claims on social media that Essex Police officers ‘bussed’ protesters to the protest outside the Bell Hotel on Thursday July 17. This is categorically wrong”.
Now, I can only accept what Essex Police have said: I am not on the ground there. That is Essex Police’s statement. The noble Lord will also know, because it is in the Statement, that Essex Police arrested an individual who was subsequently charged, whose trial is due to start on 26 August and who has been remanded in custody until that time. I am therefore not able to comment on that issue any more.
Essex Police have also arrested individuals in connection with the protest. Going back to the debate we have just had, peaceful protest is legitimate, but if that peaceful protest crosses over into alleged violence or other activity, the police have a right to act, and they have made arrests in connection with that incident as well. So I say to colleagues across the House and across the nation that peaceful protest is acceptable, violent protest is not, and the police walk a very thin line to ensure that they allow peaceful protest while ensuring that acts of violence or intimidation are not acceptable and are not undertaken. I look forward to the noble Lord’s support when this House rises to ensure that we maintain that message through the summer.