Hunger striker's fury over Met’s ‘secret McDonald's’ claim

Kiran Randhawa and Felix Allen
09.10.09

The hunger striker at the centre of one of Britain's longest-running demonstrations today reacted with fury after being accused of secretly eating McDonald's meals during the rally.

Parameswaran Subramaniyan and his supporters say he fasted for 24 days after finding out that five of his relatives including his mother had died in the conflict in Sri Lanka. He and other Tamil supporters in Westminster were urging the British Government to intervene in the civil war in the country.

Today, the 28-year-old from Tooting stood by the authenticity of his April hunger strike and said is consulting lawyers after the Metropolitan police accused him of lying about it.

Senior Met sources say their surveillance teams, using specialist monitoring equipment, have evidence of him tucking into fast food meals in his tent in Parliament Square.

Mr Subramaniyan is said to be “hurt” by the accusations, which he says are false. Raj Selva, of the Tamil Youth Organisation, said: “He is really upset and quite furious at the claims. I spent a lot of time with him during the 82-day protest and saw what he went through.

“At one point he was so weak he was wheeled about in a wheelchair. At all times, for his own safety, there was somebody with him, usually a doctor. There was no way he was eating.

“Hunger strike for Tamils symbolises so much. There are Asians throughout history who have conducted peaceful protests through fasting, like Gandhi.

“Parameswaran is horrified that he is being portrayed as someone who disrespects the act of fasting in the name of a very serious cause.”

Scotland Yard figures, in a report to the Metropolitan Police Authority, show the protests, which ended in June, cost taxpayers £7.1 million in police overtime.

Crowds reached 5,000 in the square at peak times and 80 were arrested. Officers said they decided not to expose Mr Subramaniyan's alleged secret feasts at the time for fear of provoking a riot. One Met insider said: “In view of the overtime bill, this has got to be the most expensive Big Mac ever.”

During the protests, Dr Josephine Francis, consultant microbiologist at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup, conducted blood and urine tests on Mr Subramaniyan. She warned he was on the brink of kidney failure through starvation.

Suren Surendiran, a protester who spent time with Mr Subramaniyan, said: “There are doctors' reports. Where's the police evidence?” The Met would not officially comment on the case.

London Evening Standard