Occupy the London Stock Exchange – live coverage

Join us for continuing live coverage of the worldwide protests against corporate greed as the Occupy movement takes to the streets of London’s financial district 3.03pm: The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they have made only one arrest at the London protest. PA has spoken to a couple of people involved in the demonstration: A spokesman for the protesters said: “We are doing this to challenge the bankers and the financial institutions which recklessly gambled our economy. “This occupation and 20 other occupations all around the UK have been directly inspired by what’s happening all across America and especially Wall Street.” Activists carried banners with slogans such as “We are the 99%” and “Bankers got a bailout, we got sold out”. Among them was Lorena Fuentes, 27, a charity worker originally from Vancouver, Canada. She said: “I’m here today because I can’t see why you wouldn’t be and I feel that this is one of the few moments in history where it’s not a protest, it’s an actual movement that’s taken root. “We’re trying to challenge this myth that there are not enough resources to go around.” After the attempt to occupy Paternoster Square failed, protesters returned to their previous position in front of St Paul’s Cathedral. 2.58pm: Mark Townsend has filed this dispatch on Julian Assange’s appearance at the protest to Occupy the London Stock Exchange. Just after 2.30pm Julian Assange broke through the police kettle enclosing St Paul’s, then surrounded by an entourage of supporters and the media swept through the crowd towards the cathedral. Amid a cheering throng he fought his way through the packed ranks of protesters, turned half-way up the steps and addressed those gathered below. Assange began by lamenting the police tactics, noting hundreds more remained stranded outside the kettle. Then he began attacking a greedy and corrupt system that had united individuals from Cairo to London. “People are being ordered to Guantanamo Bay to obey the rule of law, and money is being laundered through the Caymen Islands and London to obey the rule of law. “This movement is not about the destruction of law, but the construction of law.” With that he stopped, the crowd hollering as a list of other occupations throughout the world was read out. 2.49pm: Spanish protesters have invited Crown Prince Filipe to join them at today’s demonstrations in Madrid, says Giles Tremlett Today’s protest in Madrid is expected to be one of the largest worldwide, with six marches set to converge at the Plaza de Cibeles later this afternoon. This will be followed by a rally on the Puerta del Sol in the early evening. There are protests today in around 60 other Spanish cities. 2.28pm: Julian Assange arrived at the London protest outside like a modern day messiah flanked by his disciples, says Lisa O’Carroll. “He pushed through the police kettle followed by an entourage shouting “Julian, Julian”. He is now on the steps of St Pauls.” Mark Townsend adds that the whole crowd went mental, chanting “Julian”. They also passed a vote allowing him to address the protest. He tweets: “Assange says had trouble getting through kettle, blames greed, corruption and money laundering in London for undermining rule of law.” And speaking of people who are not the messiah here a picture of Jesus amid the demonstrators on the steps of the cathedral . 2.17pm: It appears that Julian Assange was not arrested but was told he could not wear a mask. Lawyer Jen Robinson tweets: “assange NOT under arrest. Says we can’t wear masks and be anonymous but swiss bank accounts can be.” She later adds: “assange being kettled – can’t get through to speak.” 2.11pm: There are reports that Julian Assange has been arrested at the Occupy London protest. Jen Robinson, a lawyer with firm Stephen Finers and Innocent, tweets: “Here with #assange and police take him under section 60AA for wearing a mask to get into demo. Crazy. “Police refuse to let me through barricade to allow #assange a lawyer. Glen Goodman , business correspondent for ITV’s London Tonight, earlier posted a Twitpic of Assange speaking outside London Stock Exchange . 2.03pm: Despite the thousands of protesters gathered outside, it’s still business as usual for St Paul’s cathedral, writes Lisa O’Carroll. Staff tried to shepherd a bride and her father into the cathedral just across the road from the riot police. They arrived in a green and White volkswagon van and were ushered in through a side entrance. 1.55pm: The New York Times has a report on the protests in Asia and Euope today . Most events drew modest numbers across Asia — the largest crowd was in Sydney, Australia, where some news reports estimated up to 800 people were in attendance. Rallies in Hong Kong, Melbourne, Australia, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo drew a few hundred people each. In Sydney, several hundred protesters, some carrying signs with slogans as disparate as “We are the 99%” and “Capitalism is Killing our Economy,” packed onto one of the art-deco style public thoroughfares outside the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of Australia in Sydney’s financial district. The atmosphere was lively, with a brass band providing music and hand-drawn chalk artworks springing up on the sidewalk. 1.52pm: The mood of the protest has changed dramatically as riot police move in to kettle the demonstrators, says Mark Townsend. He Tweets: “St Paul’s completely kettled. First arrests. Legal observers cannot access to “prevent breach of peace”. Rapid mood change.” Lisa O’Carroll adds that legal observers say one person has been arrested but this has not been confirmed. 1.36pm: The police are now changing into full riot gear, suggesting they may be about to adopt more forceful tactics with the protesters, says Mark Townsend. He Tweets: “Dozens of police changing into full riot garb. New Met commissioner pledged last wk to “win big days of action.” Strong tactics ahead.” 1.29pm: The Associated Press has a brief summary of some of the protests elsewhere in the world today. In Frankfurt, around 5,000 people took to the streets to protest in front of the European Central Bank. Hundreds marched through the Bosnian city of Sarajevo carrying pictures of Che Guevara and old communist flags that read “Death to capitalism, freedom to the people.” Several thousands are expected to protest in Rome a day after Premier Silvio Berlusconi survived a confidence vote. Hundreds of people also joined peaceful protests in Sydney, Tokyo, Manila, Hong Kong and Seoul. 1.27pm: There’s a more visible police presence around Paternoster square but still no sign of officers kettling protesters, writes Lisa O’Carroll. Police reinforcements now being drafted on New Gate street, home of the the London Stock Exchange, but for no apparent reason. Crowds swelling into the thousands but everyone is still milling round the area amiably with the occasional burst of sirens. Mark Townsend adds via Twitter: “Seven vans, riot gear unloaded Newgate St. Not sure why, couldn’t seem more relaxed.” 1.17pm: The police have just closed St Paul’s tube station as the crowds in the narrow streets surrounding it gather chanting “our streets, our streets”, writes Lisa O’Carroll. 1.08pm: Lisa O’Carroll has been speaking to a Spanish protester who has joined today’s demonstration in London. Tamara Wildash, 30, from Castellon in Spain, said she was protesting in solidarity with her friends and family who were also on the streets at home. “It’s very bad in Spain; 40% of young people are unemployed and salaries are very bad, really low and life is difficult. I was reading in a paper the other day that 1m families in Spain do not have an income, not in from the government and that is very sad,” she said. Castellon is a city of 200,000, 800 miles from Madrid and relied heavily on its porcelain tiling industry for employment. Wildash came to London three weeks “for a better life” and says she had not future at home. “Almost all the factories are closing down. It’s not only young people who are affected, it’s families and old people.” 1.05pm: There’s a rich international flavour to the London protests, writes Mark Townsend. Jungmin Choi, 40, from Seoul, South Korea, said she’d arrived in London several months later and was dismayed to find the economic disparity in the UK as pronounced as her homeland. “The poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, it is the same here. The world is an unhappy place,” said Choi, an intern at a UK-based international peace group. 12.38pm: Here’s a gallery of some of the protests going on around the world today calling for democratic reform and an overhaul of the global financial system. Here’s another picture of the protest in London from Twitter. This photo shows the polite standoff between police and protesters at the entrances to Paternoster Square. 12.29pm: Lisa O’Carroll has just sent through this update from Paternoster Square, home of the London Stock Exchange: “Protesters have now moved on mass to Paternoster Square chanting, “We are the 99%”.” This is a reference to the 99% of people the Occupy movement says have paid a dear price so that 1% could become the wealthiest people in the world. She adds that a well prepared protester has just renamed Paternoster Square Tahrir Square – a sign of the Occupy movement’s solidarity with the pro-democracy campaigners in the uprisings across the Arab world. 12.20pm: My colleague Lisa O’Carroll has sent through this update from St Paul’s Cathedral. About 200-300 protesters have gathered in from of St Paul’s as part of the London protest against corporate greed. There seems to be as many media present as protesters. Paternoster Square, which the organisers hope to occupy, has been closed to the public with private security guards issuing warnings that people could be arrested if they try to enter. The police presence is quite muted. They’re keeping their distance – in groups of twos and threes – and there’s no sign of kettling or anything more sinster. The general good humour and camaraderie of the crowd is helped by the glorious sunshine and music. The protesters are very aware that this is an international day of protest. They’re hoping to raise awareness of the adverse impact of the global financial system and build up a global movement. 12.11pm: Mark Townsend has this update from the assembly point outside St Paul’s Cathedral: He Tweets: “Hundreds now sitting in bright sunshine on steps of St Paul’s. Occupation of a global landmark has begun. “Paternoster Sq by contrast deathly quiet. High Ct injunction banning entry granted yesterday by justice peter smith.” 11.51am: My colleague Mark Townsend has sent through this dispatch from the starting point of the London protest: Protesters are starting to assemble beneath the shadow of St Paul’s cathedral ahead of a planned occupation in the City of London. Energised by the success of similar tactics in New York, organisers are hoping to occupy Paternoster Square, home of the London Stock Exchange. Scores of police are currently inside the square alongside signs warning the site is private property and that any “licence” to enter can be “revoked forthwith.” Several thousand protesters are expected to congregate throughout the day and have been encouraged to bring tents. Those already gathered expect the policing strategy to be one of swift dispersal, aware that the successful occupation of New York’s Zuccotti Park shows that the longer demonstrators remain the harder it is to shift them. 11.20am: The worldwide protests, which combine anger at the bailout of the financial sector with disquiet at the faltering global economy and increased inequality, have their roots in mass marches earlier this year in Spain. The 15-M movement was the harbinger of the massive Israeli protests in the summer and the Occupy Wall Street movement in the US. Naomi Colvin, supporter of the Occupy the London Stock Exchange Movement, explained the movement’s concerns to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme this morning: We are concerned about the role the financial services industry plays in this country – and the relationship between the financial services industry and government. We need a flourishing financial services sector in order to recover as a country but what happened in 2008 is not a sign of a flourishing industry. It’s hard to think of failure on a more catastrophic scale. It’s difficult to have faith that that kind of thing couldn’t happen again, which isn’t good three years on. The first UK event took place in Manchester this month, timed to coincide with the Conservative party conference in the city. Up to 30 people remain in tents in the city’s Peace Gardens in St Peter’s Square. About a dozen other events are planned for Saturday around the UK, including Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Norwich, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Among events in other countries, 1,300 people have pledged via Facebook to occupy a central plaza in Sydney, with similar events planned for Saturday in Melbourne, Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong. This website has a map and details of all today’s protests . The global movement has issued a manifesto , endorsed by Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky, among others, calling for a democratisation of the global finance system and mentioning the Arab spring as an inspiration for mass action. 10.33am: Welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the continuing and growing worldwide protests against the global financial system and corporate greed. This is David Batty – you can follow me on Twitter @David_Batty. Today the Occupy movement , which has been protesting in New York for the past month, comes to the UK with a march on the London Stock Exchange . The demonstration in the city of London comes as G20 finance ministers are meeting in Paris to grapple with the eurozone crisis. Campaigners are to gather outside St Paul’s Cathedral at midday on Saturday before marching the short distance to Paternoster Square , home of the Stock Exchange , as well as the London head office of investment bank Goldman Sachs. There will be live video from the protest from midday. The protest has been organised on Facebook and Twitter pages that between them have picked up more than 15,000 followers. The organisers of Occupy London say they “intend to highlight and address social and economic injustice in the UK and beyond, as part of a global movement for real democracy.” My colleagues Mark Townsend (@TownsendMark) and Lisa O’Carroll (@lisaocarroll) will be at the London demonstration. It is one of a series of events planned around the UK as part of a global day of action, with 800-plus protests promised so far worldwide . We’ll be bringing you rolling coverage of the London demo and keeping you updated on the situation in New York, where the Occupy Wall Street protesters were yesterday celebrating after a planned “clean-up” of their camp in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan was called off. We’ll be handing over to our colleagues in New York this evening, who will have a new live blog on the continuing protests there. Occupy London Occupy movement Occupy Wall Street Protest London New York David Batty guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 15, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.