China pressured London police to arrest Tiananmen protester, says watchdog

Police watchdog investigators then found evidence that the Met’s treatment of Shao, one of the last protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989, was influenced by pressure from Beijing to ensure Xi was not “embarrassed” by protests during his visit. Following Chinese pressure, documents show UK government officials, understood to be from the Home Office, also made “unusual requests” to the police about managing the state visit, an intervention that one officer described as from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found proof that demands from Chinese officials, including its security service, may have informed the decision to arrest Shao for conspiracy. “There is evidence to indicate that these requests, together with their consideration of the ongoing risk to the CSV [Chinese state visit] and to Shao’s safety, thereby influenced the decision to arrest Shao for conspiracy,” stated an IPOC report.

Source: www.theguardian.com