London Disorder UPDATE

TRWS was contacted by a reputable source with the following items.

That notwithstanding, the reports are in the main, unconfirmed and part of a fast-moving story. It is not our intention to add to speculation; it is rather an opportunity to hear from sources in Lewisham who may be able to offer a different perspective.

It is understood that there may have been serious disorder at HMP Brixton today. TRWS was told that outside contractors reported a strong smell of burning at the prison this morning when they turned up for work. By mid-afternoon after the smell of burning got steadily worse, the decision was apparently taken to escort the workers off-site for their own safety.

There are also reports of social networks being used to organise a mass meet-up at the Bowl in Crystal Palace.

Unconfirmed (and I stress unconfirmed) reports have also reached the TRWS to the effect that a police officer was stabbed today in the Grove Park area of Lewisham Borough. We will endeavour to follow up these leads.

Comments

Down a Rabbit-Hole

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Seán Flynn. I'm 56 years old and I have been a front-line paramedic with the London Ambulance Service in the East End for the past seven years. It's a job I love and, by and large, it's the happiest I've been in a long and varied working life. I am also an accredited GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) coach with enhanced DBS clearance; both as a coach and as a registered clinician. I recently travelled to the West Bank in order to coach three teams in the territory under the aegis of GAA Palestine, introducing the children to Gaelic football. I was lucky enough to travel first to South Bethlehem, then to the Al Am'ari Refugee Camp in Ramallah and then on to Qabatya in Jenin. It's important to note at this point however that the individual with whom I was initially due to travel, pulled out on the morning of the trip as the result of a cancelled connecting flight; leaving me to fly out on my own. As a consequ...

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Earlier this month and for the last time, I trained at the Lord Clyde Boxing Gym in Deptford. When it closed, I lost one of my favourite places in all of London. The gym at the ‘Clyde shut its doors after a protracted legal battle that had initially seen the plucky little boozer successfully challenge the developers’ plans. Landlord Rory McInally brought together a wide coalition to oppose the move. But the developers have since hit back and have succeeded in their objections to the gym’s continued use. This was a place where local kids boxed for free, trained and supervised by former professional boxers fer chrissakes. Plans had even been afoot to revive the Cuban-style outdoor gym in the backyard for the Summer months. While we’re not always the biggest fans of the police on these pages we do acknowledge that those officers who have any interest in building community relations have always traditionally recognised the value of local boxing gyms and the ‘Clyde had ...

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