Civil resistance activists detained in Manchester over alleged plan to raid high-end stores

Police confirmed that six women and one man were detained in Salford, Greater Manchester, on Sunday over what they said was a coordinated plan to steal from high-end stores.

Take Back Power, a civil resistance activist group, confirmed its supporters had been arrested. All members of the group remained in police custody for questioning, it said.

Police in Manchester said the group were believed to have been training for a mass shoplifting campaign, intending to steal from high-value stores and supermarkets and redistribute the stolen goods.

“We are taking robust action to disrupt this type of organised criminality, and it will not be tolerated,” said Greater Manchester police’s assistant chief constable, Steph Parker.

Take Back Power describes itself online as a “nonviolent civil resistance group” aiming “to put the 99% in charge” through citizen assemblies. The group is calling for the government to introduce a “house of the people” with powers to tax the super-rich.

A spokesperson said: “The police are arresting people at generic training sessions that simply teach the history and principles of staying nonviolent.

“Today’s raid continues the escalating repression being imposed on nonviolent campaigns. Police have so far shut down five nonviolence sessions held by Take Back Power, in some instances raiding places of worship.”

In March, police in London said that they had arrested 15 people from Take Back Power over alleged plans for mass shoplifting. Nine members of that group were charged on Sunday with offences involving stunts at the Ritz hotel in central London last December, when manure was poured on the floor, and another incident at the Tower of London.