Anarchists seize building for demo HQ

THE battle for control of the City was under way today as anarchists seized a building in the heart of the capital to use as a base for G20 protests.

Hooded and masked men unfurled a black flag from the roof of the disused office block.

Scores of protesters from around the world occupied the building to prepare for today's protests.

Police sources said the group included "known" troublemakers who had been seen at other demonstrations, including the violent Gaza rallies outside the Israeli embassy in January.

The three-storey building in Earl Street is a short distance from Liverpool Street and Moorgate railway stations, two of the starting points for today's marches on the Bank of England.

Organisers later held a meeting inside to hand out duties before protesters left the block in small groups on reconnaissance missions.

Protesters were sent out, often on bikes, to search skips for furniture or to buy food and water. Individuals who appeared at windows or on the roof with their faces covered said they were not allied to a particular group.

Many, including a 21-year-old who called herself Minnie Mouse Zombie, were from comfortable backgrounds. Describing herself as an artist and the daughter of an NHS psychiatric nurse and a counsellor, she said: "My background has given me a platform and made me more able to get involved with things like this. If I was working in a factory for 12 hours a day for a pittance I would be too tired to protest. I am totally middle class, there is no point being guilty about it."

The building was advertised on social messaging site Twitter and G20 protest forums as a "convergence space".

Notices were put up in the windows warning police and landlords that the building was occupied at all times and any attempt to enter it would be a "criminal offence".

Police made three arrests but they were not able to prevent the building's occupation and stood by as protesters filed in. However, they did make three arrests. One was a woman held for carrying a knife. As she was led to a waiting police van she said: "I've been arrested for having a knife to sharpen my make-up with."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said officers had been monitoring "open source" information such as the websites used by anarchists.

He added: "If people are breaking the law we will act."