Two arrests made as climate change protest targets RBS

Police stand guard outside the Royal Bank of Scotland headquarters at Gogarburn today

As many as 1000 protesters are expected to join the camp at the Gogarburn site over the next couple of days ahead of a planned "day of action" on Monday.

The Royal Bank said it had allowed the protesters to establish their camp on part of the site and were willing to meet the protesters.

This morning there were around 40 tents pitched in the south-west corner of the campus amid a heavy police and security presence.

A Royal Bank source said 80-100 protesters had arrived soon after 9pm yesterday and attempted to cut through security padlocks on bollards at the back entrance to the complex.

"Our security people ushered them to a point in the campus which we had designated as a place they could camp," he said.

"We are respecting their right to peaceful protest. We are not stopping people from joining them on the site. They have set up basic sanitary and cooking equipment and we are expecting they will be here until Monday or Tuesday."

The protesters have already announced Monday will be a day of action.

One of the protesters, Peter McDonnell, said: "There are more than 100 people on site and we are expecting more during the course of the day.

"For the next couple of days there will be a whole series of workshops taking place and we're making plans for the day of action over RBS's appalling record on fossil fuel finance.

"We expect about 1000 people. The resistance we met last night was pretty minimal. We've spoken to a police liaison team this morning but no-one from RBS."

He declined to give details of what the "direct action" will be, but it is expected that protesters will mount some sort of high-profile demonstration.

Protesters said their reported plan for a "swoop" which was to meet at four separate points in the city centre today was "an elaborate ruse" to throw the police off their scent.

An RBS spokesman said: "Just as society as a whole has to make a transition to renewable energy sources, so will banks like RBS. In fact, in recent years RBS has been one of the most active banks in the world in providing funding for renewable energy projects.

"Therefore, while we understand the protesters' intent, we clearly cannot agree with their decision to target RBS.

"We have offered to meet with the leaders of the protest, and although they have not accepted, this offer still stands. Our top priority is securing the safety of our staff and customers and we urge the protesters to make their point peacefully."

Police confirmed there had been two arrests but gave no further details.