[Mrluvaluva]

Climate change protesters have been told to proceed to Trafalgar Square as they continue a cat and mouse game with police, Sky News understands.

Up to 3,000 protesters have been gathering at locations across the capital to demonstrate against Government policy on global warming.

The Climate Camp group has announced it is planning to swoop on a secret location within the M25 and stay there for a week.

It is understood the Red/Purple group have been told move on to Trafalgar Square but is thought this is not where tents will be pitched.

Speculation on the internet, including the Twitter social networking website, suggests protesters are planning to stay in an East London location - possibly City Airport.

he group planned to first gather in six smaller groups to protest at key locations.

Around 100 protesters listened to speeches and music outside mining company Rio Tinto's offices in Aldermanbury Square while they waited for instructions of where to head next.

One camper, Richard Smith, from London, said organisers have chosen the capital as the site of this year's protest because it is an oil and coal city.

"All the carbon-intensive industry in the world is in part controlled from London," he said.

"Before, when we've been on previous climate camps to Drax, Heathrow and Kingsnorth, we've been targeting where the emissions are coming from.

"But the Government turns around and says 'It's OK, we can offset and trade carbon credits and we'll get a great deal at Copenhagen this year'.

"But we've done our research and it's a pack of lies."

A gathering also took place outside Stockwell underground station to mark the death of Jean Charles de Menezes and reports said over 100 met up outside Shell Oil's head offices on South Bank.

Other protest points are the head office of BP in St James' Square, the Bank of England and Stratford Station, near the 2012 Olympic site.

A game of cat and mouse will then ensue as they are directed to the final location by a series of text messages.

Scotland Yard has pleaded with organisers to tell them where they are planning to pitch their tents so they can minimise disruption, look out for their safety and plan how to police it.

But in reply the campaigners made a video which said they just "don't trust police".

Youtube video

Officers will be under immense scrutiny after the G20 protests in which the controversial "kettling" technique was used to contain crowds.

Penknives and "anything which looks remotely nasty" should be left at home, activists have been warned.

The climate camp is in London because they want to highlight the damaging impact of many corporations in the capital and the damage rising temperatures could have - such as flooding from the Thames.


SKY


It has however just been revealed that the target of their week long campaign is in fact Greenwich Park.

[Mrluvaluva]

Climate Camp descends on London today with the police promising to take a low-key approach to the climate change protests to avoid the trouble that flared during the G20 summit. Follow live updates from our reporting team as they follow developments across the city.

Up to 3,000 protesters had gathered at different meeting points across the capital before their final destination was announced by text message and on Twitter.

The group will pitch their tents in the park and intend to remain there for a week.


SKY





Peter Walker at Blackheath says there are around 100 protesters at the site of the main camp. Some protesters are now on top of tripods erected with scaffolding on the heath. These are put up by protesters to prevent them being moved on by the police - as they can't be dismantled without the risk of injury to the occupants. Peter can also see a load of trucks and a coach, but no police.


EDIT: 3.02pm: Peter Walker says the first police have arrived at the camp. There are now 500 protesters on site including 6 on tripods - at least one of which is being extended to 25ft high. He has also spoken to a Blackheath local for her view of the camp. She says: "I believe in the action they're taking against global warming but I'm not sure about this anti-capitalism."

[Mrluvaluva]

CiF blogger Sunny Hundal reckons there are now 1,000 people on site "putting up tents & banners, playing music, drinking beer, chatting." He says there are no police to be seen.

Peter Walker adds that a marquee has gone up. "Site currently looks like cross between music festival and very big wedding," he says.

It's getting bigger very quickly.

[Mrluvaluva]

Protesters at the site are tweeting that the fencing around the camp is now complete, with tripods erected at any gaps.

Peter Walkers says some rather anxious-looking officials from Lewisham council have turned up at the camp "hoping to talk 'health and safety' with organisers".


I just read that an as of yet undisclosed "famous band" will be playing there. If anyone hears who it is please let us know. There are no helicopters over the site yet from what I can see.


EDIT: 16.35 pm Police helicopter has just shown up.

[arista]

http://www.thisisbigbrother.com/foru...php?tid=143593


I've done a thread on General News
as I say this Planet is going in a Pattern
that Nothing can stop anyway.

[Mrluvaluva]

7.31pm:
Unfortunately, there appears to be some tension emerging as a result of police being allowed onto the site for a meeting in a tent, according to Guardian reporters on the ground. Julia Pendry, silver commander, has been having "tea" with the camp legal team, Paul Lewis tweets. He says about 20 anarchists have been causing trouble outside the tent.
Peter Walker tells me one person is gloomily predicting "it could kick off". Police are now leaving the site, he says, followed by anarchists shouting "scum" and "you killed Ian Tomlinson".

7.36pm:
Around half a dozen police still standing at entrance to camp. Faced by shouts of abuse, "just go!' and brief chant of "all coppers are bastards. They [the officers] look a bit uncomfortable but still stand their ground.


I can see the police helicopter circling the site. It looks like a minority could be trying to cause trouble.

[arista]

Police do not need to bother them.

[Mrluvaluva]

Apparently the police have left now and stated that they won't be going back tonight.

Following Supt Pendry's hostile reception from a small group at the camp, Paul Lewis spoke to her. He said she was "calm" and "positive". She was undeterred by hostile reaction and struck a positive note for the week.

[Mrluvaluva]

Protesters aren't happy about the police erecting a giant cherry picker with floodlights on.





"Wondering how @CO11MetPolice reconcile the phrase 'neighbourhood style policing' with spotlights and CCTV on a cherry picker. #ClimateCamp"

[Mrluvaluva]

Friendly police officers at Climate Change camp in Blackheath

Youtube video

A video on Indymedia suggests a couple of Met Officers who turned up at the main camp yesterday seemed to have missed the force's own briefing on how to handle the protest. No evidence of "community-style policing" there. The incident also illustrates how officers have obstructed journalists - both professional or citizen - covering protests.


EDIT: I have now removed the video for various reasons.

[Mrluvaluva]

The Camp for Climate Action have released the following statement to explain the current situation of policing at the Camp:

We have met with the police in the run-up to every Camp, including this one. We have explained to the police that our intentions are to spend a week holding workshops on climate change and climate action.

At 3:30pm today, people from the Camp for Climate Action met with Julia Pendry, Silver Commander of the Metropolitan Police outside the gates of the Camp at the police’s request.

This followed an earlier demand from the police for access to the campsite. After campwide discussions, the following decision has been made:

We will meet with the police, and we will talk to the police, but we will do it outside the Camp. The reason for this is very simple: many people at the Camp have suffered violence, harassment and intimidation at the hands of the police, at events such as the Kingsnorth Camp and the G20 protests. Although the police have not used these tactics at this Camp so far, that doesn’t mean that we are suddenly going to start trusting them. We take decisions as a whole Camp, and discussion is still ongoing, but at the moment, there is no reason for the police to come on site.

A lot of people from the community, and the media, have already visited the Camp, and will be able to confirm that it is a completely safe, friendly and welcoming space. Meanwhile, the police have mounted surveillance cameras and microphones on cranes and can see everything we are doing in here anyway. We currently feel that there is no reason for them to enter the site.

We have been open, honest and perfectly reasonable in our dealings with the police. We are saddened, but not surprised, that they are now threatening to cut off contact with our police liaison team. We feel this is an unreasonable response to our perfectly sensible position.

Finally, we encourage everyone else to come down to the Camp! The site is nearly complete, the main marquee is currently being erected and our fantastic workshops programme is due to begin tomorrow. See www.climatecamp.org.uk for the full run-down, and for details of the fantastic "Climate Casino" action that took place at the Climate Exchange on Bishopsgate this morning.


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