Everyone going to the camp is being searched by the cops and items such as bicycle D-locks and tools are being confiscated from them. The cops are being very heavy handed with the climate camp protesters.

The above comment would be quite off-putting to people who want to visit the camp. Can anyone who's at the camp give a second opinion as to the behaviour of the cops, just so we can get a more rounded picture?

More info is needed, but as for "putting people off" - If its true then people need to know that how much the state is willing to intimidate activists. It aint exactly a suprise.

If people are put off from organising that is exactly what the state wants, so that they can put forward their phoney climate proposals with less of a challenge. It should not put people off, it should encourage them. The bigger the clampdown the more we are probably doing the right thing.

Steve: sure, people do need to know how the police are behaving, but the first post just seemed a little bit too artificial. Climate Camp has done some brilliant work in attracting non-activists, who - I completely agree with you - would really be put off by heavy-handed policing. I was just wondering whether the first post was made by an interested party who didn't want people to attend the camp, especially since noone else has referred to particularly heavy-handed policing on here: that isn't to say the cops are behaving OK, just that it doesn't seem that they're being heavy-handed.

So, are there any campers out there who want to give a second opinion as to how "heavy handed" the police are being?

So I never comment on these things, not for any particular reason but there seemed to be a request and as I went on camp Saturday I thought I would feed back.
I was in a vehicle getting on to camp Sat. Yeah there were a lot of police, yes the van and ourselves were searched. I felt they were pretty gently with us and I'm guessing it was nothing like last year as there was alot of "if you have credit cards I won't look at the name as you are not obliged to give me these details" I even offered to take my boots off during my personal search (nice big heavy vegetarian steel toe capped thingys) and they said no. (last year someone was even asked for, and gave, his card pin number!) We were told the search was under section 1 of PACE though arguably no reasonable grounds were given as to why that should apply to us. Stupidly random stuff was seized -paint brushes and paint which we argued were to produce art work as part of our right to protest peacefully amongst other things. They seemed to think we were a load of harmless hippys, they laughed at the fact we hadn't tried to hide something in the cab of the van! Maybe others would be treated differently. I also wrote down, along side three legal observers what was happening -you have a right to question what they are doing at every point and maybe an obligation...One thought would be if you haven't left yet (apart from go now!) that if you can justify the things you want to take on camp there is arguably no justification for seizing those items. If you have a mallet make sure you have some tent pegs etc.
Forget the police, the camp is great, the people are wonderful and we want you to come and join us now :D