By Ben Lucas
Police presence in the City will be heightened this morning after six individuals were arrested on Sunday over an alleged plot to “disrupt” the London Stock Exchange.
In a statement yesterday, the Metropolitan Police said the activists from the Palestine Action group were allegedly intending to target the exchange on Monday 15, by “causing damage and ‘locking on’ in an effort to prevent the building opening for trading”.
The investigation started after the Daily Express handed information about the alleged plot to the force on Friday.
A 31-year old man was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage. Five others believed to be connected to the plot were arrested later that day.
They include a 29-year old woman and a 23-year old man in London, two women aged 28 and 26 in Liverpool, and a 27-year old man arrested in Brighton. All six will remain in custody, the force said, adding that there was a “suggestion that this was one part of a planned week of action.”
Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas said: “These are significant arrests. 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.
“I’m grateful to the Express for their willingness to provide the information gleaned from their own investigation. It was instrumental in helping us intervene successfully.
“Having only been provided with the material on Friday afternoon we had limited time to act.
“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.”
TheLondon Stock Exchange Group declined to comment on the arrests.
A spokesperson for Palestine Action told City A.M.: “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.
“Whilst Britain remains complicit in the brutal colonisation of Palestine, our direct action campaign will not be deterred.”
The arrests came after thousands of protestors marched in London on Saturday against the attacks in Gaza, as part of a day’s worth of action against Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip.
