Dear PC McCormack and Inspector Foster,

This email is a formal written notice of our intent to conduct a peaceful protest against the Church of Scientology on Saturday 13th June 2009. The protest will take place outside the Church of Scientology on Ethel Street and New Street near the junction with Ethel Street. The protest will begin at 11am and should end before 5pm. There will be an estimated 25 people attending, though we have no way of knowing exact numbers until the day itself; numbers are likely to be similar to recent protests.

This will be an entirely peaceful protest. There will be some chanting, singing, use of a megaphone, and the handing out of leaflets. Please note that we have now received written confirmation from the Crown Prosecution Service that the use of a megaphone is acceptable with reference to Section 5 of the Public Order Act. On December 13th 2008, two of our representatives met with Inspector Foster, and the duty inpector at the time, of Steelhouse Lane station, Birmingham who confirmed that we would be able to use the megaphone in a lawful and peaceful manner. If you could please ensure that police officers on duty on the day are aware that we are not a "pop up protest" (as notice has been given) and that the use of a megaphone in a legal protest is not against the law, we would be very grateful.

It is important to note that this protest is not against individual Scientologists or their beliefs, but the organisation of the Church of Scientology and its unethical practices. Because of various well-documented practices of the Church of Scientology aimed at harassing and intimidating all critics of their organisation, many members of the protest will be wearing masks on the day.

We will do all we can to ensure that the event runs smoothly and causes minimal disruption to the public and local businesses. There will be several stewards on the day wearing high-visibility vests to ensure that they are easily identifiable to the police. We hope that our conduct during the previous protests will be taken into account when planning your response for 13th June 2009.

If you have any questions or any advice for the protesters between now and the protest, then please let me know and we will respond as soon as possible.

Due to a few concerns from police officers during the April 2009 protest, we would gratefully appreciate a written response, via email, confirming receipt of this intent to protest notification. We await and welcome your response and assure you of our co-operation once again on June 13th.


Yours sincerely,

Hope you get your written response but pigs flying may be more successful. I would drop another email to Insp Foster on Friday and follow up with a tel con to make sure all is smooth.

Very best of luck on Saturday.

Bruce

I have the written response - but it has personal details of the PC on it, so I don't want to publish it as the scilons will be all over him I bet.

Everything is smooth.