Six people have been arrested over an alleged plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange today.
Over the weekend, London’s Metropolitan Police received information indicating that activists from Palestinian Action were planning to target the London Stock Exchange, preventing it from opening for trade today, by chaining themselves to the building.
On Sunday, a 31-year-old man and two women aged 28 and 26 were arrested in Liverpool on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage. Two individuals from London were also arrested, as well as someone in Brighton.
“We believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully,” said Met police Det Supt Sian Thomas.
“Mindful of the suggestion that this was one part of a planned week of action, we are in contact with the City of London police as well as other forces across the UK to ensure that appropriate resources are in place to deal with any disruption in the coming days.”
According to reports, demonstrators from Palestinian Action were allegedly planning to inflict “huge economic damage” by climbing on top of the revolving doors of the Stock Exchange building, spraying red paint from fire extinguishers, and then locking their necks with bike locks to the entranceway.
According to The Guardian, other activists would “lock themselves together in front of the main and back entrances, while fake bank notes, painted red to represent blood, were fired from ‘money guns’.”
Palestine Action told the Press Association: “The London Stock Exchange raises billions of pounds for apartheid Israel and trades shares in weapons manufacturers, which arm Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people. While Britain remains complicit in the brutal colonisation of Palestine, our direct action campaign will not be deterred.”
