According to UK policy, UK sales of tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot shields must be suspended immediately for they are being used as tools of “internal repression”.

Protests are currently sweeping across the US in response to the murder of George Floyd by the police. There has since been mass reports and documentation of the misuse of riot control equipment by the police who have been deployed to areas of protest.

Misuse of riot control equipment includes but is not limited to;

• Firing rubber bullets directly (they are designed to be shot at the floor and to ricochet at targets to minimise the risk of severe or fatal injury).

• Firing tear gas canisters directly at protestors from short range.

• Attacking reporters from the media.

All the above examples, along with many more, have multiple instances of video documentation.

The gross misuse of these anti-riot measures with intent to cause serious harm must STOP. As a nation that is a prominent supplier of such equipment to the US, the UK government has the power to suspend all sales of tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot shields in response to the internal repression by the United States police forces and government against protestors.

I urge you to sign this petition to make your voice heard and let the Parliament know that the people of the UK do not condone, support, nor accept the internal repression of  the people of the United States.