At about 8am this morning, around 7 police vehicles with approx 30-40 police, many in riot gear at the Radical Dairy Social Centre in Stoke Newington, North London. Officers from several police stations and different units were present including Scotland Yard, Transport Police, and a Public Order division.

The police raided the social centre on the pretext of suspicion of drugs and suspicion that electricity was being 'illegally abstracted'. They blocked off the street to other traffic, and threatened to smash the door down as people were already unlocking it. They then spent over an hour searching and filming inside the building. A clear printed notice on the door explained that people had been in contact with London Electricity explaining their full intention to pay any bills and that the process of setting up an account was underway. Despite this they still cut the wires to the electricity meter.

No arrests for drugs were made. However they took two computers from the building without providing a receipt for the property, and those carrying away the equipment refused to answer questions of why the computers were being seized or under what legislation.

The senior police officer on the scene, Detective Superintendent Randall of Scotland Yard, said that the computers were seized to try and secure proof ("an audit trail") that electricity was being used. "If we can show who has been abstracting electricity then we will have a prosecution" he said.

A supporter of the social centre said: "This is a clear police intelligence operation to seize computer equipment under the pretext of some spurious rubbish about electricity use. It's another part of a much wider level of harassment being carried out every day".

A local resident, one of many who came out of their houses to offer support to the social centre, said: "I am absolutely appalled by the police action, there's no excuse for it, it's political policing and nothing else".

"These several officers have made it clear to me that this is about Mayday and nothing else to prevent people from exercising their right to free association, it's disgusting."

"It's fairly obvious this is about stopping people's right to protest, it's an openly political raid nothing else, it's scary to see this happening in your own neighbourhood."

Another nearby resident said: "This place, the people here have been nothing but good for the local community. This place was empty for three years, that's bad for everybody, it was unsafe, it was unhealthy. It is now clean, occupied, safe, it's used for socially constructive purposes, we all know who is here and how to get hold of them, you know, there hasn't been a squeak of a complaint from the community, and yet we just had four police vans armed with the most latest technology down and spending hour harassing these people when they don't even respond to a wide variety of other problems we have here, it's stomach churning."

After the raid many local people were stopping by offering support and asking if they could help in any way, a strong sign of the popularity of the Radical Dairy in the local community. The Dairy has been providing workshops for local children and raising awareness of the bankrupt Hackney Council sell off of community properties like schools and advice centres.

A statement will be issued later from the Radical Dairy.

A notice placed in the window of the centre after the police had left read:

"Thankyou for all your support this morning. For those who don't already know the police came to 'visit' us again today. They have taken our computers and the electricity was cut off. However we want to STAY!"

"We now need donations of gas lamps, tilly lamps, car batteries, gas bottle heaters etc - oh yeah and wind turbines and solar panels! :-)"

(see other report at  http://uk.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=27579&group=webcast )

The Radical Dairy is at: 47 Kynaston Road,
Stoke Newington, London N16.
Phone 020 7249 6996