The police were well prepared today. I arrived well after Oxford Circus was blocked in, but there were many running battles around the double, or even treble-level police cordons that fanned out from Oxford Circus. The tactics used north of Oxford St were clearly well thought-out and coordinated. The police force used containment areas in several blocks around the Mortimer St and Margaret St areas, blocking protesters in, and refusing exit on the grounds that, "you knew this was an area of unrest, you should have left earlier." Hysterical protesters and journalists with IDs were allowed to leave before everyone else.

I've never seen a better more co-ordinated atempt to generate a volitile atmosphere than the police today. Thay generated provocation were there was none, and gleefuly applyed a headcracking Judge Dredd style to there 'containment' tactics. I left the west end around ten with thoughts of buying a small chainsaw, for the next time I wish to simply stand still.
All that I saw of the day (2hrs just N of Oxfd cir, 4hrs in Hollies st, then an anouther hr in a back st 'containment area') was aimed at leaving people angry and with the close threat of a good and houmorless copper&stick combo. Anyone know what the police are taking these days? Some of them were blatantly 'overstimulated'.
Corp-media reprted this as a 'swamping action' by the boys and girls in blue, personaly I've never seen a swamp produce ten head wounds in an hr.

Who let the cops out? Today was a clear victory, with the entire run of shops on Oxford St closed and boarded up. London was like a ghost town this morning with very little traffic, like a sunday afternoon. The Standard claimed that commerce lost 10million pounds! Great! At last a Mayday holiday has been declared in London, with many workers taking a day off. Time to spread it through the rest of the country next year. Personally I was impressed at the restraint and coolnees shown by the protesters. I have never seen so little in the way of missiles lobbed at the police. By 2.30 the police had sealled of the whole of central london and completed the task I assume we had set out to do. One disapointment... the lack of a carnival atmosphere and too many cops!

Deep, deep respect to everybody involved.

To survive SEVEN HOURS cooped up on Oxford Circus without going completely bananas is a really major achievement. Well done, everyone.

So, next time...

Given that over TWO THOUSAND people are going to be sitting in the same place for several hours - what better chance for networking and gathering with friends and fellow travellers?

Something like 'We're looking for a rendezvous at midnight - let's sort this out by consensus.'

And when the forces of darkness let everybody out in dribs and drabs around 10pm, go for a pint and a comfort break and meet up again later on somewhere else...??

To reiterate - complete respect to all there.

Closing down Oxford Street without hardly any spikiness and letting the state board up the windows without having to break them first??

NICE ONE!!!