LOC14:49
11:49 GMT
LONDON, Feb 23 (KUNA) -- British police are preparing to face a "summer of
rage" in the UK as people join protests over the economic downturn, a senior
Metrolpolitan Police officer said Monday.
"Known activists" were likely to foment unrest, with the recession creating
more "footsoldiers" to join them, Superintendent David Hartshorn told The
Guardian newspaper today.
The G20 meeting of leading and developing nations in London in April is
expected to be a focus of protests.
Supt. Hartshorn heads Scotland Yard's public order branch.
He is regularly briefed on potential civil unrest.
The officer said that the established activists "would be good at
motivating people, but they haven't had the 'footsoldiers' to actually carry
out protests.
"Obviously the downturn in the economy, unemployment, repossessions,
changes that. Suddenly there is the opportunity for people to mass protest",
he said.
"We've got G20 coming and I think that is being advertised on some of the
sites as the highlight of what they see as a 'summer of rage'."
The banks, particularly those that paid large bonuses despite receiving
billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, had become "viable targets", Supt
Hartshorn added.
The year has already seen wildcat (unofficial) strikes across the UK in
sympathy with British workers protesting at the use of foreign labour at
Lindsey Oil Refinery, the senior police officer warned.
Last Saturday, about 100,000 joined a march in Dublin, Ireland, to protest
about the Irish Government's handling of the country's recession.
Greece, France and Iceland have also seen protests over the economic
crisis. (end)
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KUNA 231449 Feb 09NNNN