Death of Kevin Gately
Kevin Gately (18 September 1953 – 15 June 1974) was a student who died as the result of a head injury received in the Red Lion Square disorders in London while protesting against the National Front, a far-right, fascist political party.
When the Liberation march reached Red Lion Square, the International Marxist Group (IMG) twice charged the police cordon blocking access to Conway Hall.
The events in the square made the National Front a household name in the UK, although it is debatable if this had any impact on their share of the vote in subsequent general elections.
Although the IMG was heavily criticised by the press and public, there was a rise in localised support and the willingness to demonstrate against the National Front and its policies.
There was further violence associated with National Front marches and the counter-demonstrations they faced, including in Birmingham, Manchester, the East End of London (all 1977) and in 1979 in Southall, which led to the death of Blair Peach.
[2] According to the historian Josiah Brownell, despite the organisation's efforts, by 1967 the London Area Council was dominated by CPGB members, including Kay Beauchamp, Tony Gilbert, Dorothy Kuya and Sam Kahn.
[11] The meeting was on the subject "Stop immigration—start repatriation",[12] and was in response to plans by the Labour government to repeal parts of the Immigration Act 1971.
[14] Liberation also booked the smaller assembly room at Conway Hall for 15 June, to coincide with the National Front meeting.
[10][15] Liberation also planned a demonstration for 15 June, leaving the Victoria Embankment and marching to Red Lion Square to enter Conway Hall.
[16] The police discussed the situation with Liberation and asked them to enter the hall for their meeting by the back door in Theobalds Road.
[25] On 15 June 1974 the police on duty at Red Lion Square were under the control of deputy assistant commissioner John Gerrard.
It provided a mobile, centrally controlled reserve of uniformed officers which supported local areas, particularly when policing serious crime and civil disturbances.
[30] The SPG comprised police officers capable of working as disciplined teams preventing public disorder, targeting areas of serious crime, carrying out stop and searches, or providing a response to terrorist threats.
[26] The National Front marchers—about 900 strong—moved off from their assembly point in Tothill Street at 14:59,[17][32] making their way through Parliament Square and on through the West End of London, arriving at the junction of Vernon Place and Southampton Row at 15:53.
They left their assembly point on the Embankment at 14:48, making their way via the Strand and High Holborn to arrive at the rear entrance of Conway Hall at 15:33.
[17] The remainder of the marchers continued to the junction with Old North Street, where they turned left and made their way to Red Lion Square, arriving there at 15:36.
[32] When the Liberation march arrived in the square, they found a police cordon blocking the way to the left—stopping them accessing the front entrance to Conway Hall.
The marchers at front of the IMG section linked arms and charged round the corner into the police cordon in what the subsequent inquiry called "a deliberate, determined and sustained attack".
The square was cleared of rioters by 15:50—approximately 15 minutes after the first IMG charge on the police cordon—and the SPG continued to press demonstrators from Old North Street back to Theobalds Road.
[40] Gately was picked up by the police and taken to a nearby St John Ambulance post, where he was treated before being taken to University College Hospital; he died four hours later.
According to Richard Clutterbuck, in his examination of political violence in Britain, "newspaper reporters were more critical of the way the police behaved here than in the earlier incident in Red Lion Square itself".
They were seen by Chief Superintendent Adams who considered them militant and hostile because their arms were linked and appeared to be carrying stakes or batons.
[43][44] At around the time of the Boswell Street clash—16:20—the National Front had been led around the south and east sides of Red Lion Square and into Conway Hall.
That appeared to be the only significant injury on his body ... it seemed most likely to me that he'd been knocked over and struck his head on the curb or been hit by a piece of sawn timber".
[51] On 17 June, Bidwell—who was also chairman of the London Council of Liberation—and John Randall, the president of the NUS, separately called for a public inquiry into the conduct of the police.
The family asked that the marchers did not carry banners, so only one was shown, at the front of the march, that read "Kevin Gately was killed opposing racism and fascism".
[61] The Scarman inquiry into the events sat for 23 days between 2 September and 2 October; 57 witnesses gave evidence, comprising 19 police officers, 17 demonstrators, 12 journalists, 5 residents or by-standers and 4 others.
[67] Scarman thought the publication prior to his findings was "an affront to the inquiry"; he was troubled by the fact that William Wilson, the MP for Coventry South East, had provided an introduction for the book.
[70] The IMG no longer relied on mass demonstrations to get their message across, and subsequent opposition to National Front marches was led by the Socialist Workers Party.
[73] The increasingly provocative actions by the National Front continued through the 1970s and led to what Peter Waddington, an academic in policing and social policy, describes as "a predictably violent response" from the militant left—violence from both sides was evident in Birmingham, Manchester, the East End of London (all 1977) and in 1979 in Southall, which led to the death of Blair Peach.
