On June 15, a protester was arrested during a peaceful demonstration at the EDO MBM armaments components manufacturing company in Brighton and on Thursday, was remanded in custody at Lewes Prison.

His crime? Photographing a security guard. At the same time, the guard's assistant was filming the whole incident - with what intent, I don't know. The guard then confiscated the protester's camera.

Surely this was a usurpation of police power? The guard was exceeding his authority and doing so in a provocative and intimidating way.

Yet the protester was still arrested.

In my opinion, the confiscation of the camera was beyond the limits of acceptability in a supposedly free and democratic society, although the police have taken no action against the security guard or his assistant.

Are Sussex Police now delegating authority to unidentifiable persons?

Apparently so, if this incident is anything to go by.

According to the terms of the injunction imposed on several protesters, taking photographs of "protected persons" - that is, EDO employees - is strictly prohibited but if the "protected persons" start acting as policemen, then surely we have the right to photograph them in order to protect ourselves?

Or are we a long way down the road leading to the complete criminalisation of protest? We must fight to defend our right to demonstrate.

-Liz Welch, Hove