Law and order

Being a revolting student in 1968, I remember the London demonstrations well. Whilst many took to the streets against the Vietnam war, I only attended a couple of peaceful rallies to support the sacked teachers in art schools (mine was Guildford) and universities. I hated - and still hate - violence, so when I was warned what would happen at Grosvenor Square, I stayed well away from the Capital.

The sit-in students at Guildford slowly dwindled to a small handful of stoics, of which I was one. For a whole Summer, Guildford college was packed with hundreds of young (and some old) people who stayed up right through the night discussing anything and everything, but then people dropped away through fatigue and stress-related illness, leaving me and about five others locked-up alone in the vast, empty building.

We turned in on ourselves and, one by one, my fellow students decided the the only road open to them was Anarchy and violence. That is when I left the building, but not before I had been offered a working, vintage sub-machine gun - with ammunition - by one of my fellows. I was only 16 and I went home to my parents. Even if I wanted one, £100 was a lot of money then.

It is a sad fact that it is pretty much impossible to hold a peaceful demonstration anywhere now without it being hi-jacked by a handful violent people who - whether or not they call themselves Anarchists - just love a riot for its own sake - like football grounds used to host. I am not talking about pulling down statues of dubious dignitaries, I mean violence against people - police or civilians.

Although associated with riots, looting is a separate issue - it's more opportunist theft. What I can never understand is why people always trash and loot their own neighbourhoods, but I assume that when locals see outsiders doing it, they just join in because they like the idea of a new TV, some new clothes or an expensive pair of trainers. Their lifestyle is determined by short-term profiteers a long way away from their neighbourhood and - as they see it - a riot could be the only way of improving it. They do not think of the shopkeepers who are their real neighbours, but they should.

Throwing Colston into the dock would not have happened if it had been taken down months ago as planned. 35,000 people would still be alive now if the government had not been trying to save the economy by putting off the inevitable.

I visited the Black and White cafe in Bristol one night, a couple of days after the St Pauls riots. I went with an Ethiopian friend from Bath and I was the only white man in the crowded bar.

At that time it was the safest place to be in Bristol. Why? Because the police were too scared to go there. It stayed a no-go area for sometime afterwards.

That was in 1980, but the next generation of police are still nervous. The Chief Superintendent of Avon and Somerset police was wise not to intervene when they pulled down Edward Colston.