Yesterday morning the community at Kensal Rise library in Brent to blocked the front dooors of the library, preventing the council from removing the books. Around fifty local residents heard that Brent council planned to take the books away after they lost their legal battle earlier in the year, they amassed in solidarity at the entrance and formed a human barracade to keep the removers inside while the police arrived on the scene at midday.

The local campaign group Save Kensal Rise Library had offered to run the building as a community building for free but the council continues to enforce its agenda. The library itself was given to the community by Mark Twain over a 100 years ago and its campaign to not be cut in the current austerity purge has been supported by Alan Bennet, Jacqueline Wilson and other writers.

With a new labour leader now in charge of the council, after the local elections, the group calls for fresh talks hoping there will be a change of heart by the council and common sense prevail.