Black Lives Matter sit-in protest in Peterborough

The protest took place from 1pm-2pm today (Saturday, July 25) with protesters sitting in small groups across the square and organisers said around 150 people took part.

One of the organisers, Saskia Cole said: “The turnout was amazing and much bigger than we expected.

“The response was good. People were taking pictures and sitting nearby and many stayed and listened.”

The silent protest was preceded by the reading of an open letter to Cambridgeshire police highlighting a number of concerns raised by Black Lives Matter organisers. A list of names of people Black Lives Matter protesters say have suffered unjustly at the hands of policing in the UK was also read out.

Saskia Cole added: “We wanted to be silent because we felt people are not listening so what is the point of speaking?

“We wanted to highlight that we want to see real change and for the police to address the issues that we have.”

The group is also organising an online petition and asked protesters and passers-by to sign it using their phones.

“We felt the support was very good from a lot of people,” said Saskia. “We asked people to take out their phones and sign the petition and many did.”

Concerns were raised on social media about a protest taking place in the city centre during the pandemic and with Peterborough’s new case rate of coronavirus being among the highest in the region, and Saskia said that city council officials had raised concerns about the protest.

But she praised protesters and said social distancing was carefully observed and masks were worn.

“The council were not supportive. They tried to dissuade us,” she said. “But with Queensgate open and shops open we felt there was no reason not to hold a socially distanced protest. People were respectful of it and there was social distancing.

“The police were supportive and helped us with the arrangements.”

The PT has approached Peterborough City Council and Cambs Police for comment.