Activists from Waltham Forest for a Free Palestine and Shake the Civ tossed fake “blood money” from the public gallery at a meeting on Wednesday (26th November), reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

Protestors rained ‘blood’ money down on Waltham Forest councillors in their latest protest against the pension fund’s investment in arms companies.

Activists from Waltham Forest for a Free Palestine (WF4FP) and Shake the Civ tossed fake money, altered to look blood-soaked, from the public gallery at a meeting on Wednesday (26th November).

They accused the council and the London Collective Investment Vehicle (LCIV) of having “blood on their hands” through their continued investment in companies linked to the arms trade and Israel.

Waltham Forest has condemned their behaviour, with council leader Grace Williams calling it “disappointing and distressing”.

The LCIV manages a collective pool of pension funds on behalf of the 32 councils in the capital. WF4FP has been pressuring the council to invest in alternative funds – such as green energy – since 2023 in light of Israel’s war against Gaza, which has seen more than 70,000 Palestinians and 2,000 Israelis killed.

The council’s pension committee meets quarterly, and has been regularly discussing divestment with officials from across London. Members of the LCIV were due to attend Wednesday’s meeting, but did not show up.

Waltham Forest committed to divesting from such companies in early 2024, but says progress will be slow. The council divested fully from fossil fuels in 2022, but the process took a total of six years.

Speaking after the protest, a WF4FP spokesperson said: “We protested with hundreds of local residents outside last night’s pension committee meeting to let the council and the LCIV know their delays and excuses on full divestment are not acceptable.

“As usual, the pension committee played the blame game, naming other local councils and the absent LCIV for a lack of progress on divestment.

“After they had congratulated themselves for doing everything they could, we disrupted the meeting and shut it down to protest their lack of urgency. We threw blood red paper money over their heads as they tried to quiet our call to action before stopping the meeting and leaving the room.”

Cllr Williams, who took control of the authority in 2021, said the disruptive protest “added to a very concerning picture of continued targeting of individual councillors on social media and at surgeries, and in the worst case of intimidation and harassment”.

“Activists have the right to express their views, but we will take every step necessary to keep councillors and staff safe,” she  said.

WF4FP said equating “protest and communications,” which includes sending emails and attending councillor surgeries, with harrasment and intimidation was”disturbing and deeply concerning to us”.

“We categorically refute allegations of intimidation or harassment of any councillors,” the spokesperson added.

The group has demanded a “clear timeline for full divestment” from the pension committee and “transparency from the LCIV on its plans with local pension money tied up in complicit companies”.

So far, the pension committee has agreed on a clear criteria of which companies it should avoid and is currently taking financial advice.

Cllr Williams said the council has been “open and honest with local campaigners, residents, and the people who rely on the pension fund that any divestment is a complicated process that we must get right”.

“Serious structural change takes time and careful planning,” she said.

“We are taking considered opinion from pension fund experts to help shape our responsible approach.

“We must take the advice of those who fully understand the implications of these proposals and how our pension fund will operate successfully when we complete this work. There are over 25,000 members of the pension fund, who expect the council to manage the fund properly. The antics of activists will not change how we exercise this vital responsibility.”

The LCIV was approached for comment.

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