Bailiffs evict Parliament protesters after
moving into camp under cover of darkness

Peace protesters climbed on top of lorries in an attempt to stop bailiffs removing them from London's Parliament Square Gardens last night.

Demonstrators in the makeshift camp, known as Democracy Village, lost a Court of Appeal battle to stay there last week.

Metropolitan Police officers and bailiffs descended on the camp at around 1am this morning and three lorries carrying brought fencing to try and cordon off the square.

A police spokesman said: 'Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service are in attendance within the Parliament Square area. They are there in a supporting role to High Court enforcement officers who are currently carrying out an operation to evict those residing on the grassed area of the square. The role of the police in such circumstances is to be on standby to prevent a breach of the peace and to deal with any crime.'

Protest: Mayor of London Boris Johnson had argued the
protest was preventing people enjoying Parliament Square

A bailiff talks to a protester who has chained herself by the neck to a scaffold post

Witnesses described seeing protesters climbing on top of the lorries to prevent fencing being installed around the square.

One protester, Maria, said the bailiffs arrived just after 1am. She said: 'There are about 60 of them and they have cleared the square of people. They have got two articulated lorries and a flatbed lorry full of fencing to try and fence off the square but we have got one person on top of the lorry so that will stop them. We will try and hold out for as long as possible.'

Metal fencing has been put up around the square and cleaners arrived on the site this morning to rip up camp sites and remove rubbish.

Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster City Council, said: 'We are relieved this dreadful blight of Parliament Square has finally come to an end, and look forward to it being restored to its previous condition so all Londoners can visit and enjoy it.

'Whilst it is right and proper that it will always be a place where people can voice their opinions, we must find a way to help prevent it being hijacked by vociferous minorities whose primary intent seems to turn this Unesco World Heritage Site into a squalid campsite.'

Clean up: Bailiffs clear the site of rubbish before fencing
it off this morning so repair works can be carried out

Evicted: An aerial view of the protest site before demonstrators
were removed at around 1am this morning

The likes of Brian Haw, who has been camped out since 2001 near the Houses of Parliament, were not moved on after pitching up spots on the pavement.

Last month, High Court judge Mr Justice Griffith Williams granted orders sought by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, but their enforcement was delayed pending an appeal to Master of the Rolls Lord Neuberger, Lady Justice Arden and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton.

Counsel Jan Luba QC argued that the mayor had no right to evict the demonstrators because he did not own the land, which belongs to the Queen, and had failed to prove any legal title to it. Even if Mr Johnson could bring the proceedings, a court could not order possession because it would be incompatible with laws relating to rights and free speech and assembly, said counsel.

But the mayor's QC, Ashley Underwood, said Parliament Square Gardens was an open space which the public had a right to use and that the judge reached a reasoned decision. He said there was a pressing social need not to permit an indefinite camped protest on the site for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others to access.

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said the protest had caused 'considerable damage to the site and had prevented its use by others, including lawful protesters'. She added: 'The Square will now be closed temporarily, during which time the site will be restored for the use of Londoners, visitors to the capital and responsible protesters.'

@Craig, Kent - "Get the money to repair the damage from their benefits."

Craig, that is getting US, the taxpayers to pay it! Make them clean the mess up, unpaid.

Steve, United Kingdom  20/7/2010 19:28


have to admit I'd lost sight of what they were protesting about. Pleased no-one was seemingly hurt though. I do agre with all the comments about travellers though, for sure they wouldn't have been evicted. Come on Ant and Dec sort it out please

rob, chesham  20/7/2010 18:57


Get the money to repair the damage from their benefits.

Craig, Kent  20/7/2010 10:


What a crass statement Craig. How long did it take you to think that one up ay?
I'm so unfortunate not to see the world in black and white like you do.

The Voice Of Common Sense, Solihull, England  20/7/2010 18:19


What are you all whining about it is not a campsite it was a place of beauty before the ECO tramps moved in , some one said they are now on the pavement well they can now be booked for obstruction and fined heavily and put in prison if necessary this country is a mess and its time ti clean it up for every one not just a bunch of yuppies who think they are doing good when all they are doing is freeloading.

Tonze, 1872  20/7/2010 18:18


How very unbritish.

Does Damian Green know about this ??

Steve, Goodban  20/7/2010 18:13


Their time and that of the courts would have been better used clearing Westminster of crooked useless MP's and Lords

john, leeds  20/7/2010 18:10


Why can't they deal with 'travellers' in the same way?

Oh, of course, it's their 'human rights', innit?

Not to mention the fact that these protesters were on the MP's doorstep...can't have that now, can we?

Andy, Warrington  20/7/2010 18:03


Who needs free speech - not the tories!

Geoffrey, Godalming  20/7/2010 18:03


All those years women set up camp protesting about nuclear deterrents I can't remember what they where called, and they get rid of a peace protest because it doesn't look nice on Americans photo's!

They were called filthy, smelly, skanky, obnoxious, Commie loving peaceniks! Next question?

Pete, Los Angeles  20/7/2010 17:59


What exactly are the protestors doing wrong. This is a smash in the face for peaceful protest and democracy. I thought all this thuggery would come to an end after Nu Liebour were kicked out.

Also bailiffs cannot man handle people, this is called assault and they can be sued, hopefully for millions and I hope they lose their jobs.

Mark, Leigh, Lancs  20/7/2010 17:54


Another bunch of scruffy none-working/ever worked? yobs cleared off the streets. They need to get a life, do some work, you might find it exilarating, and possibly benefit the community at the same time, instead of costing the tax payer to clean up after you!!

jj, Durham  20/7/2010 17:53


My understanding is that as UK residence, we've been given the right to protest. In fact I believe we are in Iraq so that people there have the same choices we do here - the right to protest, the right to choose a government etc. basically the right to live a free life without being mistreated. How terrible then that we are fighting a war to give others these choices, yet we can't choose these choices ourselves less that 100 years from where the law is made. This is dictatorship and to say it's because it's an eye-saw is even worse. Imagine if Saddam was still allowed to do what he wished to those he concidered eye-saws. I'm glad they've only moved 30 yards but just 100 yards further and they could do it everyday and night outside 10 Downing Street.

Mark, Kent  20/7/2010 17:47


This wasn't a peace camp. This was a homeless person dump with Police protection. There used to be grass there and I read that they have been using the bushes as a bathroom. That is a health hazard. Glad they are gone.

Charlie B, London  20/7/2010 17:34


They were still there one hour ago when I walked by with mega phones surrounded by tourists .

Makes UK laughing stock of World for being such a soft touch .

john, london  20/7/2010 17:26


Bunch of nutters anyhow. whats the point they are making?.

colin, huddersfield  20/7/2010 17:19


they all need to get a life and a job!

Andrew, Suffolk  20/7/2010 16:54


Bailiffs evict Parliament protesters after moving into camp under cover of darkness

Next, can we have the bailiffs evict the lying, expense-fiddling, good-for-nothing- except-lining-their-own-pockets MPs please?

old geordie, Peoples republic of Geordieland  20/7/2010 16:17


it's a pity the same laws couldn't be applied to the 'celebrities' that seems to permanently loaf about on the gossip columns of this countries so-called 'news' papers...

paul, london  20/7/2010 15:50


"prevent it being hijacked by vociferous minorities"

Please red arrow me as from that quote and most of the comments here, I take it that the majority of people supports the war.

It does surprise me as the number of protesters demonstrating before the war in the street of London was at record level.

I thought they were too many life lost (we are crying for our boys who are only a drop in the ocean compare to the "collateral damages"). This coutry must be so rich to be able to fund two wars at once.

And after that people wonder why there is so much mindless violence in the UK these days (a bit like the people of Columbine wondering why their youth got shot).

Chris, Swindon  20/7/2010 15:11


It's about bloody time. And can we get rid of Laws as well? Is he claiming benefits too, as I cannot see him making any attempts to get a job? Any wonder the country is in such a financial state.

Paul, Auckland, New Zealand  20/7/2010 15:11


The authorities never act so speedily to remove so-called travellers when they decide to take over a village cricket pitch or other site. Probably because they can't be seen by our MPs as they go into "work" to claim their expenses.

William, Plymouth UK  20/7/2010 14:50


Some direct quotes from the ConDem Coalition document:

"We will implement a full programme of measures to reverse the substantial erosion of civil liberties and roll back state intrusion.

We will restore rights to non-violent protest."

This document, and its proponents are vapid and hypocritical. Conservative Governments have a similarly poor records on civil liberties erosions as Labour.

Ronnie, London  20/7/2010 14:27


This has not made the situation any better, they are all on the footpath facing Westminster. Terrible sight and stinks like a garbage dump.

Tony, London  20/7/2010 09:54


Absolutely agree Tony, and the camp site is a bit whiffy as well...

Doofus, Newbury uk  20/7/2010 14:26


Nowhere near as terrible a sight as innocent victims of a pointless, ineffectual war.

It a shame these people who believe that this protest is not worthy and an inconvenience to their cosy little lives, are not forced to see the horrors that are occurring every single day, in the name of their "freedom".

Remember those who say nothing are condoning the action. We all need to take the responsibility to decide whether we can allow this in our name.

David, Cromer Norfolk  20/7/2010 14:25


Good.

Before the PC brigade red arrow me for denying people the right to protest I would like to know how many of these 'Peace Protesters' are in paid employment and contribute to our country through paying tax? I doubt very many of them considering they occupy the public land most of the time. I very much hope they are not receiving state benefits.

I have no interest in listening to the arguments of squatters who have cost the British hundreds of thousands of pounds in clean up and legal costs - money that could have gone on equipment for our troops who are not there for the political reasons but for us.

Fran, London  20/7/2010 14:14


Gone at last - what an eyesore they all were in the City of London. Don't they have jobs and families to go to or are they all just job dogers claiming benefits! They should all go home the lot of them!

Linda, Hampshire  20/7/2010 14:11


When will these people grow up and realise that they live in one of the best countries on the planet?

They are always going on about lack of freedom. How many other countries would allow them to behave like they do. We allow them to behave like louts and no doubt many take state money in benefits whilst they are attacking the very state that feeds them?

If they dislike it so much here they are all free to leave and live elsewhere.

I think if the lived under a few other regimes they may realise how lucky they are and, like me and lots of other people, be thankful that they were born here.

Theresa, London  20/7/2010 14:05


Greenham common was the place where another group of people protested but so far as I remember they where never evicted!

When in a civilised society we loose the right to protest at the very heart of a rotten parliament we will never be able to change things for the better!

Red on the right folks!

Christine, England where a war criminal is at large!  20/7/2010 14:01


Yet another nail has been driven in the coffin for free speech and freedom of protest in this neo-Soviet satellite state. When will those Daily Mail readers - and other reactionary individuals - who crow when things like this happen realise that these rights will sooner or later be denied THEM as well? Voltaire rightly said, "I may not agree with what you say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it." Doesn't anybody believe this anymore? Perhaps those who delight in the stifling of legitimate and peaceful protest should search their own hearts and ask themselves if they have become fascists..

Cap'nHand, Loughborough  20/7/2010 13:47


The British never cease to amaze. They all say end the war. When some people decide to act instead of pontificate they are lazy scroungers. Sad

Kevin Gilmer, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne England  20/7/2010 13:33


They were just following orders.

Brian B, Glasgow, UK  20/7/2010 13:27


In my childhood you could walk into Downing Street and have your photo taken standing in front of Number 10. When I was in my late teens, I could walk into Downing Street and sit down there to protest about the war in Biafra.

Now you can no longer go anywhere near Downing Street, and another freedom, that of peaceful assembly in Parliament Square is removed from us.

How long before we see the events of Tianneman Square re-enacted in Trafalgar Square or some other public arena in London which are new rulers decree as no longer allowable?

The price of freedom is constant vigilance. We are all sleepwalking into a police state.

The History Man, France  20/7/2010 13:20


Democracy at it's finest eh?

The idiots on here applauding this should remember that their own grandchildren will never be able to protest in any way, shape or form.

Tony, Essex  20/7/2010 13:13


@Christine, England where a war criminal is at large!

What planet are you on? These idiots messing up the place was the disgrace. getting rid of them was a good job well done.

Rob, Freedomville, England  20/7/2010 12:47


Good riddance

daves, chelmsford uk  20/7/2010 12:40


Good riddance, now get a job.

cloak of anonymity, England, not EU  20/7/2010 12:38


Brian Haw was left for 1 reason only,He is so well known that they would have ended up with a lot more publicity and this was after the new Government said they were going to get rid of the exclusion zone around westminster.

Adam, UK  20/7/2010 12:12


There we have it folks, its now "case law"

"But the mayor's QC, Ashley Underwood, said Parliament Square Gardens was an open space which the public had a right to use and that the judge reached a reasoned decision.

He said there was a pressing social need not to permit an indefinite camped protest on the site for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others to access"

Anyone now faced with "travellers" on local land can use this legislation. It cannot be disputed except by another mammoth legal wrangle.

Local councils take note. Get them off school fields, parks, car parks, lay-by.

There is NO ARGUMENT and no EXCUSE for PC 'uman rites bull****.

Make the Police do it or take them to court too for not upholding what is now LAW.

coffin dodger, dark side of the moon  20/7/2010 11:46


About time. Look at the state of that place.

What I would lile to know how they survived for so long financially. Must have been claiming on state, including housing benefits.

Kiran, Swindon, England  20/7/2010 11:40


And you idiots think, that you are free....You were born into bondage and you are happy about it....So when some of the freer ones show you your prison, you applaud the prisoners. How ignorant is Humanity is beyond me.....

H, Woking  20/7/2010 11:38


So 'they' can remove peace protesters within one night, but travellers who commit crime, make huge mess, intimidate and abuse people and lower house prices, that is ok, their hands are tied there?

STEVE, ESSEX  20/7/2010 11:32


If their benefits were stopped these filthy layabouts would be forced to get a job and wouldn't time to set up their camps.

R.F.York, Yorks UK  20/7/2010 11:31


Perhaps Colin Barrow could dismantle his own council's appalling parking department in a similar way. It's a little hypocritical to condemn a bunch of harmless hippies for preventing people visiting the West End when his own council's parking enforcement team do exactly the same thing.

Captain Rathbone, London UK  20/7/2010 11:22


What good have these people done for their "cause"?

Nothing.

It's just so that they can feel good about themselves or rather have an excuse to lay about all day doing absolutely nothing.

Why aren't these people in work or job seeking.

Or am I as a tax payer paying for these people to lay about all day whilst they are on benefits?

Bob M, Bridgend  20/7/2010 11:15


Another in the middle of night raid is what can only be described as a national disgrace.

At least the one man BRIAN HAW is allowed to stay.

All those years women set up camp protesting about nuclear deterrents I can't remember what they where called, and they get rid of a peace protest because it doesn't look nice on Americans photo's!

Christine, England where a war criminal is at large!  20/7/2010 11:10


Get the money to repair the damage from their benefits.

Craig, Kent  20/7/2010 11:05


Now if they had gone along to protest in caravans and mobile homes, diguising themselves as travellers, they would have been left out to camp for much longer - Oh forgot that just happens on land which us mere mortals have to look at.

Suzy, West Yorkshire, uk  20/7/2010 11:00


If the bailiffs can clear Parliament Square Gardens of unwanted squatters why is it not possible for bailiffs to clear the private property of farmers or schools, or the public property of council ratepayers when the non-travelling travellers move in and desecrate and occupy property that does not belong to them.

Giovanna, Rome, Italy  20/7/2010 10:59


This has not made the situation any better, they are all on the footpath facing Westminster. Terrible sight and stinks like a garbage dump.

Tony, London  20/7/2010 10:54


Gone. Good.

Dailymale, London  20/7/2010 10:45


Good, now perhaps they'll get a job??

Fat chance!!

Dave, Ashby, UK  20/7/2010 10:45


Strange how these judges apply the law.

Regardless of personal views on these protesters, it's possible that they believe they have a genuine 'cause'.

The law says it OK to evict them from this piece of land, yet travellers who have no 'issue' , are allowed to stay on land like this and deprive the use of it to everyone else.

Methinks Doris is being disingenuous.

fred, leicester  20/7/2010 10:33


Bunch of idiots , protest yes , but these are lazy loffers

parrcent, merseyside  20/7/2010 10:27