NO PASARAN

Well whatever you were expecting from yesterday's mobilisation against the BNP in central London it's unlikely that a masked up badger themed reclaim the streets anti-fascist disco was high up on the list. But that's (kind of) how it went down.

The BNP started to assemble in Old Palace Yard at midday, with the aim of laying a wreath at the cenotaph some five hundred yards away, but their march was never given a chance to move off. By midday a couple of hundred anti-fascists were only being held back by a thin line of cops from overrunning the BNPs muster point entirely. At no point did the fash ever assemble more than seventy members, meaning that Nasty Nick's foray into street mobilisation is unlikely to be repeated. The few BNP*, along with a few of their White Power mates who tried to give it large inside the anti-fascist crowd were given a stern talking to. Meanwhile the UAF moved up to block the junction with Parliament Square.

For the next four hours the police tested the will of the crowd by rushing forward and using snatch squads. Over sixty arrests were made as anti-fascists were loaded into double decker buses specially commandeered for the occasion. However the line refused to budge and the fash stayed safely penned in.

Black and White – Unite and Fight.

At around 3pm just as the cops seemed to be trying to create a corridor of vans to push the BNP along their march route re-inforcements arrived from the 'Stop the Cull' demo which had just ended in St James' Park. The sight of four or five hundred badger masked antis pouring across Parliament Square with a sound-system was enough of a wild card to temporarily halt any police plans. The animal rights crowd sowed further confusion by torching an effigy of Owen Paterson outside Parliament and dragging their soundsystem into the road for a bit of badger dancing.

Two hours later the fash, perhaps wondering if they were suffering an acid flashback, decided to throw in the towel and announced that they were not going to march. Victorious anti-fascists marched to the Cenotaph before retiring for a well deserved pint.

The sixty arrested have all been bailed out of central London and given conditions not to participate in or organise 'protests'. Various arrestees heard cops discussing arrest quotas and it was obvious from the presence of the double decker busses that a mass arrest was planned from the start of the day. Of course having so many bailed away from London before the anti-G8 actions is remarkably handy for the Met.

To get involved in the struggle against racism and fascism -  http://antifascistnetwork.wordpress.com/

*Anti-fashionista note: Dear BNP wearing a suit doesn't make you look respectable – when accessorised with a shaved head you just look like the kind of bailiff who can't be bothered to knock.