Anti-G-20 protesters clashed with riot police in central London April 1, overwhelming police lines, invading and vandalizing the Bank of England and smashing windows at the Royal Bank of Scotland. A banker was burned in effigy, drawing cheers. More than 30 people were arrested after some 4,000 clogged London's financial district for what was dubbed "Financial Fool's Day." The protests were called ahead of the Group of 20 summit set to open the city.
The protests in London's financial district—known as "The City"—took place as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama held a news conference at Britain's Foreign Ministry elsewhere in the capital. Banners read "Resistance is Fertile," "Make Love not Leverage," "Eat the bankers," and "0 percent interest in others." Some bankers went to work in casual wear fearing they could be targeted. (AP [2], April 1)
Police say one man was found dead amid the protests. Officers said they moved the man behind a cordon as protesters hurled bottles at them, and attempted to resuscitate the man before he was taken away by ambulance. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. Authorities did not give a possible cause of death. (AlJazeera [3], April 2)
See our last posts on the UK [4] and the econocataclysm [5]. See also our coverage of last year's G-8 protests [6].
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