April 1, 2009
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Anti-capitalist protesters embarked upon a wrecking spree within a City branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland today, and engaged in running battles with police as G20 demonstrations turned violent.
Police were forced to use dogs, horses and truncheons to control a crowd of up to 5,000 people who marched on the Bank of England, in Threadneedle Street, on the eve of the London summit.
As officers on the steps of the Bank held firm, several hundred demonstrators broke away to move towards the RBS building on the corner of Bartholomew Lane.
Officers attempted to control them but a hardcore group of 20 still got into the building, which had been closed for the day.
The rioters then went on the rampage within the bank, which was at the centre of a row over the £700,000-per-year pension of Sir Fred Goodwin, its former chief executive.
Telephone lines were ripped out, office furniture wrecked, windows smashed and graffiti daubed on both the inside and outside. A blue office chair was used to smash up one of the blacked-out branch windows, while another chair was thrown out of the window.
Police officers eventually managed to drag the protesters out after 15 minutes and drive the crowd away from the building shortly afterwards. All of those involved in the incident were believed to have been arrested.
RBS said it had closed the branch in advance over security fears, and added that employees were not at work when the violence broke out. "We had already taken the precautionary step of closing selected City of London branches, including the Threadneedle branch," a spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the protesters who marched to the Bank of England were still being penned in this evening by officers who cordoned off surrounding streets, amid what Scotland Yard called "increasing levels of violence". At least one officer was injured.
The demonstrators – a combination of anarchists, anti-war protesters, environmentalists and others – had made their way to the bank using four different routes, from Moorgate, Cannon Street, Liverpool Street and London Bridge.
A Met Police spokesman said: "There have been a number of missiles thrown at officers and a number of surges at the police cordons, and increasing levels of violence towards police. Cordons have been put in place to maintain safety and control the crowd."
Despite the violence at RBS, the worst fears of authorities and City workers appeared not to have been realised by the demonstrations with police confirming only 32 arrests. Of those held, 11 were arrested for impersonating police officers as they travelled in uniform in a fake armoured personnel carrier.
Their vehicle was escorted from Bishopsgate, central London, to Wapping, east London, where it was taken off the road and later driven away by a police officer.
Speaking to The Times as the van was driven away, a protester calling himself Greenman said he organised the stunt along with other members of a group calling itself Spacehijackers.
He said it was designed to highlight how Britain was increasingly becoming a police state. "Terrorism laws are always encroaching on our freedoms and discouraging dissent," he said.
Among the causes represented was War on Want, who carried a giant toy canary on a stretcher after setting off from Moorgate station for the Bank of England. Attached to the makeshift stretcher was a placard which read "RIP Canary Wharf 1990-2009". It also listed banks including RBS, HSBC, NatWest, Abbey and LloydsTSB.
Many of the protesters chanted as they walked towards the Bank of England. Chants included "Revolution" and "Palestine will be free".
Other demonstrators, carrying placards such as "Bring on decent decision making" and "0% interest in others", then began to make their way to the Bank of England.
Several individuals, some wearing masks and hoods to cover their faces, were involved in minor scuffles with officers as they were shepherded onwards.
Among those spotted among the crowd was the comedian Russell Brand, who said he was accompanying the marchers because he was interested to see why the protest was taking place.
Amid a counter-provocation staged by a handful of city workers, some were seen to be leaning out of their office windows waving £10 notes at the protesters down below.
Many had reported for duty today dressed down or in jeans, attempting to avoid any trouble
Jeremy Batstone-Carr, head of research at stockbrokers Charles Stanley, based in the heart of the City, said they were "preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best".
His firm has extra security on the door, while workers were "aggressively" dressed down.
"It’s a strange atmosphere around the City and everyone seems somewhat apprehensive - everyone that should be in the office is in, but we’re not taking any chances," he said.
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