Hordes head south for G20 protest march

Published on Friday 27 March 2009 21:26

TENS of thousands of people were today set to take part in a huge march to kick off a week of protests marking the G20 summit in London.

The massive crowds taking part in the Put People First march and rally include hundreds of Scots who were last night descending on London to voice their anger over job losses, poverty and climate change.

The march will be held in central London, organised by an unprecedented alliance of 150 groups, including unions, charities, environmental campaigners, development and faith organisations.

Organisers insist the event will be peaceful, but admit a "tiny minority" may be intent on causing trouble.

Much of the 19 million being spent on staging the G20 summit will pay for security amid warnings some events could descend into mayhem.

Police leave has been cancelled, with Scotland Yard warning that some campaigners are planning disruptions in the City.

While messages delivered at the demonstration will be wide-ranging, protesters are likely to voice their anger at bankers who they claim are at least partly responsible for the recession.

T-shirts with slogans such as "Scumbag Millionaire", and others with the face of former RBS chief Sir Fred Goodwin's face in a crosshair, have been circulating among some protesters.

Among unions in Scotland sending members are Unite, Unison, PCS, and RMT. Other groups from Scotland that will be represented are CND and Christian Aid.

Eileen Boyd, an activist from Glasgow who is organising some of the London trips, said:

"I'm aware of ten buses going down and there are at least another 400 or 500 people I've heard are making the journey."

Thousands will march to Hyde Park for a rally with speakers and entertainment including Luke Pritchard of the Kooks, comedian Mark Thomas and Mauritanian musician Daby Toure. Brendan Barber, the TUC general secretary, will tell the rally that people are "right to be angry" at the recession.

"It was made by all the policy makers of the past few decades who believed they should let the market rip, that public services should become profit centres and who were happy to see the gap between the super-rich and the poor get bigger every year," he will tell the crowds.

The cost of staging the summit, which takes place on Thursday, has drawn heavy criticism.

Meanwhile, a professor said to be masterminding "mayhem" for next week was suspended by his university after he warned bankers could be "hanging from lampposts".

The University of East London confirmed a "full investigation" had been launched following warnings of violence from Chris Knight, 66, from Lewisham, south London.