openDemocracyUK

Video: Power2010 projects the St George's cross onto Westminster

Guy Aitchison
23 April 2010

Anthony has posted below some of the great pics of Power2010's projection of the English flag and the call for "Home Rule" onto Westminster along with some reflections on the significance of the demand for an English Parliament.

Myself and a small team took part in the projection in the early hours of Thursday morning along with several other Power2010 activists. This short video, which I took, shows the projectionists doing their work from Westminster bridge. It was a guerilla-style operation. The equipment, including several large batteries, had to be brought up by rickshaw onto the bridge and then set up. The image was then projected on the palace with the photographer taking pictures on the other side of the river.

Shortly after the end of the film, the old bill turned up. The image had been up for about two minutes in total. The officer was quite determined to put a stop to our harmless protest declaring that we were breaking the law (which law, he wasn't clear on) and then standing in front of the projector to obscure the image before unplugging the battery. He then demanded to take people's details under Section 44 of the terrorism act (which I refused to do) and told us to clear off.

They were very touchy about the whole thing and in no mood to negotiate, even when I told them it was for St George's day. No matter. We had just long enough to get the shots we needed, which have now been spread far and wide across the blogosphere. You can see more of them on the Power2010 website where you can also take part in a letter-writing campaign to candidates to challenge them on where they stand on the English Question

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