The original intended occupation site of Occupy London - Paternoster Square - adjacent to the stock exchange, has been occupied by Occupy London on Mayday since around 6.45pm

After the London Mayday trade union march up to 300 people took part in a roving anti-workfare demo with a banner reading "Workfare is Stealing Our Jobs", shutting down various branches of MacDonalds, Greggs, Topshop, BHS, Holland and Barrett and others including Boots, Pizza Hut, Greggs and more all along Oxford street and beyond. The protest was called by the London Solidarity Federations and supported by Occupy London. The final destination for Occupy London was to retake Paternoster Square.

last week, while covering the protests on budget day, i wandered on to the grass at parliament square. a heritage warden and various police told me both that i couldn't be there, and i couldn't take photographs there. holding my ground and after further inquiry, i was told by the head of the security company managing the 'heritage wardens', that the GLA have a list of websites that the bye-laws prohibit posting to, even non-commercially. the GLA press officer has so far failed to respond to my calls asking for a copy of that list.

Details of the arrest of Bryn Phillips, his interview with the British Security Services, and the involvement of The City of London Corporation in his arrest.

a peaceful protest to save the nhs yesterday became a blockade of whitehall and then a march through the streets of london. as TSG officers were deployed, there were some incidents and injuries, as well as a controversial incident with some gun-wielding diplomatic protection police.

Here's just a few of the snaps from today's london stop and searches and arrests. For sure the cops were really going for people with aggressive interventions and some rowdy push and shove when nothing at all had even happened, nothing. Best bit though was the solidarity shown by people at Charing Cross when they went for the young lads in the main march. Sure someone will have it on video - great solidarity. And a great day - biggest strike for years - c'mon people don't let the Daily Mail and co win the spin war.

+ Police PR (re-trumpeted by some shit tv stations) were also doing their best to say that everyone they were targeting were 'outsiders' not connected with the march. Huh. So like now if you're young or wearing a kafiya or wearing black you can't be concerned with the cuts and marching in solidarity with the strike!?

See also:

List of some of the tweets about stop and search and arrests:
http://chirpstory.com/li/1910

Post: http://my.firedoglake.com/kgosztola/2011/06/30/uk-police-stop-search-citizens-striking-to-prevent-possible-hooliganism/

Others:
http://wire.jwarren.co.uk/protester-with-water-pistol-handcuffed-on-whi
http://wire.jwarren.co.uk/wpc-straddling-a-protester-to-arrest-him-on-w
http://wire.jwarren.co.uk/police-searching-and-photographing-j30-protes

Early searches:
http://www.demotix.com/news/739473/masked-protesters-questioned-under-section-60-june-30th-strike

We're all in this together...

Late reporting from Whitehall and surroundings.

Arrived in Trafalgar Square in the early afternoon, then marched on Whitehall towards Parliament Square. Police were busy directing people where they wanted them to be. Barriers stood in the middle all along Whitehall and police seemed intent in making the march go only on one side of them.

Once in Parliament square, I ended up on the green outside Westminster Abbey. A sound system was on one corner and on another one, a banner with the words “Workers Assembly”. Next to it was a speaker that seemed to welcome anyone who wanted to speak. I could see lots of people with the same model of t-shirt: “Real Democracy Now”, the main demand of what seems to be known as “The Spanish Revolution”. A real assembly seemed to be happening right there. People raised their hands and waved them from time to time (a sign of agreement with what is said at that moment).

On the way back to Trafalgar Square, I saw a small group in the distance, between the Square itself and the McDonalds restaurant, that seemed to be kettled, or in the process of being kettled. Heard reports of snatch squads and seemingly random arrest. People had seen police with “snatch cards” on their hands.

Noticed a police line being formed on one of the side streets. They allowed people to get through the line but at a given point, they stopped allowing anyone through. Before I could figure what was going on, a noise of running came from a few yards back. Three very big guys, bully thugs style, were running very close together. They were carrying a smaller guy between the three of them, clearly against his will. I then realised that the guy being carried in this way had his hands tied up behind his back. He did not have handcuffs, but one of those plastic bands used to hold cables together. His hands were placed in a very ackward and obviously painful position.

Now, these big guys in plain normal clothing carrying this other guy “were” allowed through this police cordon. Then the cordon eased off to allow a van in. After some talking and lots of note-taking by the thuggy guys and uniformed police officers, the guy with his hands on his back was put into the police van.

The incident just described is what is known as “snatch squad arrest”, where police in plain clothes choose one person from the crowd and quickly, by surprise and without any warning or even any word, they immobilise him/her and they quickly take him/her into police custody. I saw another person being taken into a police van in this very same way up in Trafalgar Square too.

Saw another, smaller march also in Trafalgar Square. People dancing to a samba band and with banners about Congo and Sudan marched towards Whitehall. They were escorted and surrounded by police, various big vehicles and other hired workers. Some of the workers picked up traffic cones in front of  the march, from one of the big vehicles, leaving them there as the march passed next to them. Other workers put a white tape between the cones, in a way that made the march enclosed by police and by white tape too. Then a last worker removed the tape and put the cones on a last vehicle moving slowly behind the march.

When this small march went on to Whitehall, police had made sure the Strike march was out of the way from the smaller march. So both marches were never mixed up.

the 9th peaceful anti-cuts occupation in trafalgar square began last night. during the evening there were six arrests and plenty of intimidation. this morning couple of dozen protestors were evicted by a police operation involving 150 officers. they were also told a section 60 is in force today J30.

click on image for larger version. all images are 'some rights reserved' - free for credited non-commercial use, otherwise contact author for permission

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at 6.30 yesterday evening, the anti-cuts occupation began in trafalgar square, with around 20 activists setting up a small marquee, and a ring of tents at the bottom of the steps near the olympic clock display.

as they have peacefully occupied this area on eight previous occasions, and as they had checked with the GLA that the square was not being used until friday morning, by which time they had pledged to peacefully leave, they did not expect any problems.

however, after a couple of hours, the heritage wardens, who had been filming them, were joined by police, and one of the protestors was targetted to be read the bye-laws. it was explained first by a heritage warden that he was in breach of the bye-laws and if he refused to leave he would have to submit his name and address for possible action against him. the police then added that if he didn't submit his details he would be arrested and taken to the station until he did so.

two grey suited GLA personnel seemed to be in charge of the operation, one of them continuously talking, perhaps to legal advisors, on the phone, and liaising with his wardens and the police.

the occupation group had a concensus meeting and agreed a principle of non-co-operation while leaving individuals to make their own decisions if targetted. the first arrest duly took place, and the activists was walked to the van and taken to charing cross station. there, he soon gave his details, and was allowed to leave, returning to the camp immediately.

after a while the heritage wardens approached another person and the same ritual was enacted. this time, the activist refused to walk with police and was then dragged to the next waiting van. he too returned after giving his details.

the third arrest was made all the more comical, pointless and surreal, due to the fact that the activists wore his 'v for vendetta' anonymous mask throughout the whole proceedings. the arrest was filmed, and appears to be unlawful because the police did not read him his rights, nor explain to him why he was being arrested, despite repeated requests on camera. apparently he kept his mask on throughout the encounter, eventually giving up his details and being allowed back to the square, mask intact.

the whole process occurred three more times, with the targets chosen perhaps arbitrarily or perhaps because wardens recognised them as regulars from previous occupations. also by about 11pm, a loose ring of 30 police were surrounding the camp at a distance in the square, and around half a dozen police vans littered the pavements, including a large prisoner transporter. a little before midnight they were also joined by a van of tsg riot police, and it looked like an eviction might be under consideration.

without explanation though, the police then withdrew, leaving just a few observing the occupation, and the night passed peacefully.

at around 7am this morning, they camp was again addressed by police, who told them that the area was needed to begin setting up for tomorrow's 'canada day' celebrations and that they were therefore required to leave, and would be evicted if necessary.

slowly the camp organised itself, and by 8.30 they were near the end of a concensus meeting at which they had made the decision to peacefully leave, when they were completely surrounded by more than 100 police, and they then packed up and were escorted out of the square.

the 'anonymous' mask wearer was told to remove his face covering this morning, informed that there was a section 60 in force throughout the day. are the police expecting to cause trouble with the public sector unions i wonder?

Crowd charges cop vans on Shaftesbury Avenue, though there are more hands pointing cameras than chucking stuff.