After our visit to the Climate Camp, we went back to the Bank of England. The situation had calmed down considerably, but several thousand people were still hemmed in around Bank station. They weren't being allowed to leave. When would they be allowed to go to, I asked a policeman. "Not until we've photographed and gotten details of every single one of them," he said. "You won't see some of them until midnight," he added.
See also Dave Hill. It looks like the cops are mounting a variant of cordon and search down in London. Craig Murray has more details. Also…
The Met later confirmed that 19 people had been arrested. Eight of them were detained for offences ranging from threatening behaviour to violent disorder and indecency while another 11 protesters who turned up at the protest in an armoured personnel carrier were arrested in connection with the possession of police uniforms and road traffic offences.
The latter group are understood to be anarchists known as the Space Hijackers who had come to make their feelings felt through the medium of street theatre.
The latter group are understood to be anarchists known as the Space Hijackers who had come to make their feelings felt through the medium of street theatre.
Ah, bless…
Tonight's exciting update on my walk back through the City, which took my along the borders of the cordon on Cheapside (by One Poultry).
It's not a break-out mass, this one. Very much your standard demo demographics. Which is disappointing, and I say this as a wage slave lackey deeply involved in aiding and abetting the ruling classes.
Posted by: Richard J | April 01, 2009 at 07:59 PM
It's odd how the "threat" is constantly overhyped: it's partly security theatre but you also get the sense that people who know how bad things are really are expecting proportionate discontent.
Posted by: jamie | April 01, 2009 at 08:07 PM
people who know how bad things are really are expecting proportionate discontent.
I don't think it's quite that - more the suspicion (based on no firm evidence, I must admit) that the current recession has more speedily affected those sectors where the journalist demographic earns its wedge (professional services, financial institutions, media...) - that are very dependent[1] on the discretionary spending of those with capital...
[1] Sod it, parasitic.
Posted by: Richard J | April 01, 2009 at 08:23 PM