Day One of the Womble 7 trial and a threat of arrest!!!!!!!!

Finally, the day arrived and I checked my emails and PMs and the boards, before getting there for about 9. Loads of cops in the area, and slowly people start drifting in, eventually ending up with about 30 friends, 60 cops and a gaggle of journos and camera crews. Briefs start arriving, and with loads of good wishes, we enter the court building to lots of extra security. Our trial is not listed on the boards, but we guess it's in Court 3 as they have no listings. We still don't know who the jusge is, but after a while, learn that they have brought in a Judge from another court. The floor where courts 1 - 4 are is normally heaving with people at that time of the morning, but today its us, friends, coppers and our briefs. I pop down to the loo and the waiting room outside courts 5 + 6 is jampacked, seems like the court has well and truly disrupted itself.

Despite the negative reports posted on Indymedia this night, most of us are heartened by the day's proceedings, details of which will have to follow. We go to a cafe for lunch and on the way back into court there is a gang of 3 police photographers,cameras pointed at us. I hang back to see if they are photographing defendants, they sure are, all three focus on me while I am standing on my own. Why do they need photos of us, when they know why we are at court?

We sit there till 4.55 by which time we have worked through 2.5 of 15 prosecution and police witnesses, so timing is looking a bit dodgy. We leave the court and I decide to drop into "choke on it", wander down and sit by Monty's statue with some mates. We are not on the footpath and are not blocking anyone's way, but a group of cops come up to us and ask us to move into the pens. I say that I am not willing to stand in the pens, and the cop says that as there are now 22 people at the demo, they can declare a S14 of the Public Order Act, and I can be arrested for refusing to go into the pens. I ask him what problem I am causing, and the cop (CX8) replies "It's to stop people demonstrating at will!"

I decide to leave to consider my options and am followed up the road to the pub. There I meet one of the other 7, who has been accosted at the bar by two uniformed officers who walked up to him as he was about to buy a pint, and asked him if he had anything planned for the evening. This makes it clear that whatever is going on inside the courtroom, the Met still has lots of muscle and is prepapred to flex it, even in the middle of a trial which is becoming quite high profile.

I decide not to get arrested, but to walk down Whitehall and get a bus home. I set off, followed by two FIT officers. Half way down the street, my path is blocked by CO906, who asks me to cross the road so that my "lawful demonstration can be facilitated". I tell him that I don't wish to do that, that I refuse to protest under the terms that they have decided, and that I intend to go home.

He tells me I must cross the road to go home, and I tell him I don't want to! He looks me up and down, and says, "So you're going home?". "Yes" I reply, "and when i get there I shall be posting my experiences at your hands up on Indymedia and U75. He decides to escourt me on my chosen route home, and flanked by CO906, CO996, BS76 and a woman wearing the numbers 410, I am surrounded as we walk past Downing Street. I get to Parliament Square, and BS76 is really invading my body space, so I duck into a phone box. I see that two mates have been following me, watching my back. While I am on the phone to the solicitors company, I see one of my friends (also a co-defendant) being searched right next to the phone box.

I stick my head out and he tells me he is being searched under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Turns out that while he was chatting to the cops, he asked them: "What do you think I'm going to do, throw a Molotov cocktail at the queen?"

They don't arrest him, so I finish my call and we head off over Westminster Bridge, Unbeknown to me, an acquantaince has witnessedthe scene from a bus, got off and followed us. Half way across the bridge he hears the cop say, "The annoying troublemakers have crossed the bridge". They turn around and go back to harass more peeps.

Off for a drink, drained, not happy with the naked repression being used against the group, even in the middle of the trial.

But still stubborn, still pissed off and still refusing to be inmimidated.

Our trial made the lunchtime news I hear, and there is coverage on the BBC, and someone has posted a story on Indymedia (very negative and not at all a reflection of what really happened inside today! details of the BARF ARE ALSO REPORTED, SO THE POTENTIAL FOR A BIG BREAKFAST IS THERE!!