MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Metropolitan police started a crackdown on activists suspected of previous participation in direct actions at demonstrations, ahead of a large anti-austerity march to be held on Saturday, the Guardian reported.
The newspaper cited sources saying that at least four people suspected of offence in the previous demonstrations were arrested and released on bail conditions forbidding them to participate in the forthcoming campaign. Police are tracking several other suspects, the newspaper added.
“There seems to be a massive crackdown. There is some sort of political motivation behind all of this. This is not the Met police; they haven’t got the brains. I think there’s a political motivation to stop this wave of direct action going on all across the city,” activist at Class War group Lisa McKenzie was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the anti-austerity demonstration, organized by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity. People will flock to the UK capital from all over the country to take part in the rally, which will start at noon local time [11:00 GMT].
The march is expected to begin near the Bank of England and end at the Parliament Square.
The United Kingdom has been engulfed in anti-austerity protests since the general elections, with thousands of people taking to city streets to protest Tory policies.
