Living on a farm, I tend to be in a "pro-hunt to reduce the number of foxes" lobby, and I find the way the protesters were treated appalling.
You Americans probably haven't seen the footage where 5 protesters break into the House of Commons (think Congress or the Senate). They are now being charged with burglary (what did they steal?), forgery, and assault. While I'm not terribly worried about them, as none of the charges can be made to stick, the other side of the story is far more worrying.
Outside the Commons, a group of protesters tussled with police, and the footage shows the police beating the protesters with truncheons. Some of the injuries (on women too) afterwards looked fairly horrific.
There is talk now among the hunt protesters at a full attempt to bring London to a standstill. Imagine every horsebox in the UK blockading London...
It's a sad day when you can no longer protest in a free country, and I for one am sad to be British, and now have a very low opinion of the police.
