Author: James Robert-Warwick Stuart
Issued: 1 May 2025
Generated: 01/05/2025, 04:50 BST
Event Location: Manchester, United Kingdom
FOI REQUESTS FILED FOR CCTV FOOTAGE AND POLICE RECORDS AMID GRT RACIAL PROFILING SCANDAL AT THE MANCHESTER CHRISTMAS MARKETS IN NOVEMBER 2024.
Investigated by James Stuart
Manchester, UK — Legal advocate and independent researcher James Robert-Warwick Stuart ("The Scottish Crown", "Catholic Descendent of the Throne" and "Stuart Prince of Wales") has on the 30th May 2025 submitted several additional formal Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to Manchester City Council, Network Rail, and the British Transport Police (BTP), seeking full disclosure of CCTV footage and internal communications relating to the controversial policing of Romani Gypsy, Roma, and Irish Traveller (GRT) children at the Manchester Christmas Markets on 23 November 2024.
The requests, made by Stuart in the public interest, demand access to timestamped surveillance footage, incident logs, and inter-agency correspondence concerning the alleged racial profiling, use of force, and safeguarding failures committed by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) — now the subject of a formal investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following a complaint submitted by The Traveller Movement charity, arising from the successful Freedom of Information Request Stuart made in November 2024 surrounding the incident.
The Initial FOI
The FOI Request in November 2024, after repeated requests, resulted in the 'Structured Human Rights Document' being released on January 27th 2025, requiring additional requests to be made with Greater Manchester Police, with the force attempting to assert that in particular contention Question 3.) of the FOI Request:
“3.) An explanation of how Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (freedom of expression and assembly) were taken into account during this decision-making process. ”
The force stated this particular question, was outside the Scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and that it was invalid;
Citing that:
“Question 3 – Invalid question under the FOIA. We are not obliged to provide opinions or explanations. ”
This response, in Stuarts legal opinion was most certainly highly unsatisfactory, and a clear affront to the GRT Communities to present damage limitation to the force in the clear face of the video evidence, and the major number of individuals affected, primarily children.
This was nothing short of prejudicial policing. It was racial profiling, it was targeted. But Stuart did not rest there, Stuart returned with legal precision, rational thinking, and unfaltering resolve seeking the one thing GMP historically doesn't like to show face on, transparency.
Stuart Challenges Lack of Transparency
Stuart responded to Greater Manchester Police with the following secondary request:
“Dear The Information Compliance & Records Management Unit
In your response FOI Letter, you have stated, in response to this part of the FOI Request,3.) An explanation of how Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (freedom of expression and assembly) were taken into account during this decision-making process.
- Question 3 – Invalid question under the FOIA. We are not obliged to provide opinions or explanations.
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide any and all recorded information relating to the Section 34 Dispersal Orders—one covering all boroughs within Greater Manchester and another specifically covering central Manchester—that shows and demonstrates how Articles 10 and 11 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (freedom of expression and assembly) were taken into account during the decision-making process for these Orders. This may include, but is not limited to:
Meeting minutes
Internal and external correspondence (emails, letters, memoranda)
Policy or guidance documents
Assessment reports
Any other records referencing or discussing the consideration of Articles 10 and 11If any of the requested information is withheld, please specify the grounds for refusal by reference to the relevant sections of the Act as such information is not exempt from the scope of the FOIA Act;
Yours sincerely,
James Robert-Warwick S. York-Plantagenet Stuart”
It was this secondary request that triggered the production requirement for the Structure Human Rights Document, which ultimately, after serious consideration of the language within it, confirmed Stuart's worst fears. Stuart contends that there was Clear Racial Profiling of GRT Communities based on insufficient intelligence and evidence, which in most part was dependent on a football match that didn't even happen.
“This is not just about footage. It’s about truth, transparency, and the protection of children from targeted institutional harm,” said Stuart. “What happened on 23 November has shaken public confidence. The state must be held to account — especially when those responsible wear a badge, a uniform, or carry out the execution of Law Enforcement in the Name of the Crown. This reflects badly on us all, working royals or not, whether in the public light or not, whether Catholic or Protestant, or not... and without addressing this sooner rather than later, it is only a matter of time before it extends into other aspects of public life. ”
Materials Requested under the FOI
Among the materials requested by Stuart are of the following:
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CCTV from Albert Square, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Square, and Manchester Victoria Station, where children were allegedly forced onto trains and separated from family members;
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Internal emails and reports between Manchester City Council, GMP, BTP, and Network Rail;
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Complaints received by the council in relation to police conduct during the markets.
THE DONCASTER TRAIN : INSIDE VICTORIA STATION. (VIDEO SOURCED)
OFFICER 1: "GET YOUR HAND OUT OF MY FACE"
GRT MALE YOUTH 1: "IM NOT GETTING ON HERE, IM NOT GOING TO DONCASTER. IM NOT GETTING ON HERE."
OFFICER 1: "GET ON THE TRAIN"
GRT FEMALE YOUTH 1: "STOP PUSHING ME"
OFFICER 1: "GET ON THE TRAIN"
PUSHING AND SHOVING OCCURS BY OFFICER 1 TO GRT FEMALE YOUTH
OFFICER 1: "GET ON THE TRAIN"
FURTHER PUSHING OCCURS.
OFFICER 1: "GET ON THE TRAIN"
GRT FEMALE YOUTH 1: "CAN YOU STOP PUSHING US CAUSE IM GUNNA FALL DOWN THE THING AT THE SIDE OF THE CART (TRAIN SIDEWALL BETWEEN PLATFORM EDGE AND TRAIN)"
OFFICER 1: "WELL GET ON THE TRAIN THEN. GET ON THE TRAIN"
GRT FEMALE YOUTH 1: "IM GUNNA GET ON IT"
VIDEO NOW IS AT THE TRAIN DOOR
GRT MALE YOUTH 2: "WHAT'S YOUR BADGE (COLLAR) NUMBER, BADGE NUMBER"
FURTHER PUSHING OCCURS.
[ATTEMPTS MADE BY GRT YOUTHS TO IDENTIFY THE OFFICERS AS PER THE LAW - OFFICERS MUST BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED]
OFFICER 2: "NINE ON" (POSSIBLE REFERENCE TO 9 YOUTHS BEING BOARDED)
OFFICER 3: "THANK YOU ON THE TRAIN"
OFFICER 4 TO GRT MALE YOUTH 3: "PUT YOUR FIST UP AGAIN YOU WILL GET LOCKED UP"
(REFERENCE TO A HAND GESTURE, NO IMMEDIATE THREAT)GRT MALE YOUTH 3: "FOR WHAT, FOR WHAT, FOR WHAT, FOR WHAT, FOR WHAT?"
GRT MALE YOUTH 4 (VISIBLY SCARED): "I DONT KNOW WHERE IM GOING, I DONT KNOW WHERE IM GOING, I DONT KNOW WHERE IM GOING, WHERE AM I GOING? WHERE AM I GOING? WHERE AM I GOING?
IT IS AT THIS POINT A GRT YOUTH IS PUSHED BY POLICE INTO THE SIDEWELL GAP BETWEEN THE TRAIN, AND THE CARRIAGE, TRAPPING THERE LEG;
GRT FEMALE YOUTH 3: MY LEG, SCREAMS IN FEAR,
VIDEO SHOWS GRT FEMALE PUSHING THEIR LEG OUT OF THE GAP BETWEEN THE SIDE WELL, AND THE PLATFORM, PUSHED ONTO THE TRAIN BY OFFICER.
GRT MALE YOUTH 4: WHERE AM I GOING, WHERE AM I GOING,
OFFICER 5: "GET OFF AT THE NEXT STOP"
(THIS WOULD BE A MAJOR PROBLEM SINCE THE NEXT STOP FROM VICTORIA STATION WOULD STILL BE IN THE DISPERSAL ORDER ACTIVE ZONES)
GRT MALE YOUTH 4: WHERE WHERE, WHERE AM I GOING.
VIDEO ENDS.
GRT People Treated as Second Class Citizens; A Stark Contrast to the Second World War.
“It is clearly deducible from the footage that these [GRT] people were treated like second class citizens. If this was wartime Britain in the 1940s, it would replicate how my Jewish people were treated by SS Operatives, as I am someone with jewish blood all the way from Jerusalem.. it reflects the dehumanising playbook used against other minorities in the darkest chapters of European history." Stuart asserted.
Stuart, whose ancestry includes descent from the historic Kings of Jerusalem, Fulk V through both Jewish and Catholic royal bloodlines, notes the haunting parallels between the dehumanisation of GRT children and the early stages of persecution seen in pre-war Europe.
Stuart went further on to say: “There is no difference, except time, date and location. The Motive? The Conduct? The Proportionality? It's all the same. Its disturbingly familiar - if not identical, but, it is unmistakably drawn from the same institutional mindset. I was the best in my class when it came to history. It's safe to say, that i know what im talking about.”
Removal of Identification Numbers of Officers:
Reports indicate that epaulette numbers were removed by officers, raising questions about accountability. Stuart can also confirm this is the case following reviewing certain footage that was taken inside of Victoria Station on Mobile Phones. Where in particular a number of officers attending Victoria Station were shouting at the GRT Youth's, there numbers were either hidden or obstructed from public view, we have, however been able to identify one such officer in Manchester's Victoria Station, showing a collar number: 15688. GMP is invited to confirm or clarify the officer’s role in this operation. This identification was made through review of publicly recorded footage.
Stuart previously obtained internal GMP documents via FOI, which are now believed to have contributed to the IOPC’s current consideration of investigation. He is also the author of a proposed Self-Regulated Code of Conduct for unregulated legal advocates, and was instrumental in a successful legal resolution during lockdown to defend children’s services from unlawful closure — a case that involved former police officers from a separate force as defendants in a civil claim.
Stuart's FOI actions seek not just disclosure, but justice.
“The GRT Community deserves the same legal protection as anyone else, ” Stuart added. "We are past the point of plausible deniability. The footage exists. The records exist. It's time the public sees them."
Public FOI Submission Policy, and Call to Action:
All FOI submissions have been made publicly via WhatDoTheyKnow.com. Stuart is calling on the public, the media, and civil society groups to follow developments and join the call for full transparency and institutional accountability, by using the following Hashtags on social media: #JusticeForGRTChildren at #ManchesterMarkets.
Justice belongs to everyone, and these children: committed no crime. broke no law. and were, law abiding citizens at the time this order was unjustly activated; Stuart has not been contacted or requested to do any of these things he has achieved, and has taken this up upon his own free will, without incentive, without pay, and without any expectation in return, only, that fair representation is given to all.