Parliament Square protestors evicted
Tuesday, 20 July 2010 4:43 PM
By Ian Dunt
The permanent demonstration outside parliament has been removed by bailiffs in a four-hour operation in the dead of night.
It took around 60 bailiffs to clear Parliament Square, starting at around 01:00 BST.
But protestors are lingering around the eight-foot green fence erected around the square and vowed to go on demonstrating in a protest operation dubbed "Operation Rolling Thunder".
Several banners are being held out on the road between Parliament Square and the parliamentary estate with the words "the dispossessed" emblazoned on them.
One protestor managed to chain themselves to scaffolding during the eviction, while another crawled on top of a lorry containing the fencing that was eventually put around the square.
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The removal took place after the court of appeal eventually rejected efforts by the protestors to keep their newly-created Democracy Village in the square.
A mixture of peace activists, environmental campaigners and anarchists had set up the village, sleeping in tents and conducting workshops during the day.
The eviction does not affect the square's long-time resident, Brian Haw, who has been camped outside parliament in protest at British foreign policy since 2001, despite numerous legal attempts to remove him.
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