Plots, paranoia and Monty Python... inside the world of G8 anarchists

A SIX-MONTH investigation by Scotland on Sunday into the heart of the G8 protest movement has uncovered the often cranky, yet deadly serious face of anarchists and dissenters who want to bring the meeting of world leaders to a standstill.

Their preparations for the July 6-8 summit at Gleneagles include a series of training camps being held this weekend to teach activists how to break into the Faslane naval base on the Clyde, in a protest timed for Monday, July 4. They will be taught fence-cutting techniques, how to climb over razor wire and how to avoid being injured by guard dogs.

Meanwhile, 'factories' have been set up in Edinburgh and Glasgow to manufacture 'lock-on tubes' - devices which protesters wear on their arms to hinder police attempts to clear them from road blockades.

Mission control for the disruption during the summit will be an 'eco-village' at Forthbank, near Stirling, which was approved by the local authority and Central Police on Friday.

The plans are ambitious and there is no doubt Scotland could be plunged into chaos even if they only partially succeed.

But there have also been moments of unintended comedic brilliance straight out of a Monty Python sketch. The groups planning the disruption pride themselves on their non-hierarchical decision-making structure. At meetings, the organisers shun the use of a table as it is regarded as too corporate.

The words 'yes' and 'no' appear to have been banished in this strange world as a means of indicating approval or disapproval. Instead, they wave both hands in the air - up to agree, down to disagree. Then there is the ever-present fear of infiltration. Planners hide surnames from one another and detailed discussions about direct action are restricted to tight-knit huddles of only the most trusted activists.

It is clear, though, that a major tactic will be to block roads leading from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Perth to Gleneagles to prevent administrative staff from reaching the hotels where world leaders and their aides will be staying. Crucial sites for road closure have already been scouted, down to the specific road sign poles that will be used to link chained demonstrators.

• Read Scott McCulloch's six month investigation of G8 activists