G20 Protests: 'Kettle' At Bank, Climate Camp Pitched

By Londonist Last edited 187 months ago

Last Updated 01 April 2009

G20 Protests: 'Kettle' At Bank, Climate Camp Pitched

Bank_protest.jpg
Protestors outside the Bank of England / image courtesy of memespring under a Creative Commons licence

Well, all four marches made it to the Bank of England - only to be blocked in by police in what's apparently called a 'kettle'. Nobody's being allowed out of the area in scenes reminscent of Oxford Circus in 2001. There's a predictable amount of argy bargy going on: some protestors threw red smoke bombs, others grabbed police helmets and threw them around, and there's reports of truncheon use and blood. Police lines seem to have forced have kept one group of protestors in front of... a branch of RBS. Which was clever. The RBS is now being attacked. Riot police are out. (From Guardian twitterers). The epicentre of trouble seems to be on Threadneedle Street. But are there more people taking photos than doing the kicking off?

On a far happier (and less bloody) note, the Climate Camp has set up in Bishopsgate bang on time without any trouble. They have a band, bunting and a farmer's market! Is this a protest or a day out in Hampstead?

People are starting to gather in Grosvenor Square to protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The march will head through Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and Haymarket before ending in Trafalgar Square.

(Information from Twitter, Guardian and Telegraph liveblogs, the FT's G20 twitter feed and Indymedia.)