Clement Blair Peach (25 March 1946 - 23 April 1979) was a New Zealand-born teacher who died, allegedly as a result of police brutality, during a demonstration in London, England. At the time he was teaching at a special needs school in London, and was an active member of the Socialist Teachers' Association within the National Union of Teachers, and a member of the Socialist Workers' Party.
A campaigner and activist against far right wing and neo-Nazi organisations, Peach was knocked...
more »

Clement Blair Peach (25 March 1946 - 23 April 1979) was a New Zealand-born teacher who died, allegedly as a result of police brutality, during a demonstration in London, England. At the time he was teaching at a special needs school in London, and was an active member of the Socialist Teachers' Association within the National Union of Teachers, and a member of the Socialist Workers' Party.
A campaigner and activist against far right wing and neo-Nazi organisations, Peach was knocked unconscious in April 1979 during a demonstration in Southall by the Anti-Nazi League against a National Front election meeting taking place in the town hall. He died the next day in hospital. Eleven witnesses said they had seen members of the Metropolitan Police Special Patrol Group (SPG) hit Peach. No one was ever charged, but it was said that he had fallen to a blow from a rubberized police radio. An inquest jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure in May 1980, prompting Peach's girlfriend, Celia Stubbs, to claim the police constable who allegedly administered the fatal blows had got off "scot-free". She continued to campaign for many years, unsuccessfully, for a public inquiry into his death. The Metropolitan Police Service reached an out-of-court settlement in 1989 with Peach's brother.
« less