Smithfield workers in protest march

Demonstrations across London greeted the launch of congestion charging today.

From meat market traders at Smithfield to protesters with banners in Kennington, hundreds braved the cold to make clear their reaction to the scheme.

The mood was most militant at Smithfield, where hundreds of workers have already threatened to go to prison rather than pay the £5-a-day toll.

They were met by Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who denounced the charge as "nonsense" and said: "It's classic Ken. It's cost huge amounts of money to implement and it's going to hit people who have no other way of getting in to work.

"It's only going to hit the people on low incomes who can least afford it."

Shortly after 8am around 200 Smithfield traders - still wearing their bloodstained overalls - took to the streets. Led by a bugle player, they stopped first to present a letter to the Lord Mayor's offices at Mansion House, and then headed over London Bridge to do the same at Mr Livingstone's offices at City Hall.

They were joined by James Bond actress Samantha Bond, who said: "I'm not against congestion charging in principle, but I believe it discriminates against low-paid workers who rely on cars."

George Abrahams, who like most meat traders starts work around 4am, said: "If there was a 24-hour Tube service then at least we would have a choice. But Smithfield meat market has been here for a thousand years and this charge is being forced upon us."

Tory Steve Norris, who predicts the charge could hand him victory in the next mayoral elections, said: "It's just a big anti-car gesture which misses the point of what it is supposed to achieve, which is to reduce congestion."

At Tower Bridge the shadow minister for London, Eric Pickles, headed a small group of residents at the roadside holding placards declaring his party's pledge to scrap the charge. He warned: "Mayor Livingstone predicted that it is not going to go terribly well today. I think it is just a warm-up for what's coming. It is school holidays. Next Monday will be the real start of the problems."

In Victoria, Mr Pickles' colleagues brandished banners saying: "Ken-gestion Tax ... Unfair and Won't Work." One campaigner, Nick Dines, 24, from Westminster said: "It's an unfair aggressive tax on Londoners. The principle is wrong and the scheme is wrong."

On the southern boundary, around 20 residents with banners lined Kennington Lane, which they say will now become like a "motorway" as drivers avoid the charge zone. Clapham Tory councillor Bernard Gentry said: "This is just the start of the battle for the people of south London. They are going to suffer disproportionate noise and pollution every morning. The rush hour started earlier today and it will do from now on."

Doreen Coombes, 68, said: "We've got to pay extra for everything every time we have a builder, a locksmith, a plumber. Even the shops are hiking their prices. Why should people on one side of a junction have to pay so much more?"

However, the start of the scheme did find some staunch supporters. In Kennington, resident John Davies said: "There is an accident on this junction nearly every day. I think the roads will become more peaceful. Our kids walk to school and that's what they should be doing."

At the Angel, Islington, the London Assembly Green Group handed non-alcoholic champagne to bus passengers to celebrate "London's big brave experiment".