Eleven G20 campaigners are being prosecuted for impersonating police officers despite some being half-dressed and wielding toy machineguns. The protesters, who call themselves the Space Hijackers, claim today it was obvious they were taking part in an April Fool’s Day joke as world leaders met in London on 1 April.
They were arrested as they drove an armoured personnel carrier through the City while playing Wagner’s Ride Of The Valkyries over a loudspeaker.
Leah Borromeo, 30, a freelance journalist who was wearing a riot helmet and boiler suit rolled down to the waist to reveal a black bra, said: ‘If I’m guilty of anything it’s of impersonating a stripper, not a police officer. Our lawyers never thought anyone would be charged because it is so ridiculous. It is a farcical case.’
Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer decided they must face a four-day trial despite critics describing the charges as ‘a terrible abuse of power’.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of three months and the case has reportedly already cost the taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds.
Experts have called for the case to be withdrawn. The Met was heavily criticised over its handling of the protests. Apart from the Space Hijackers case, the police and Crown Prosecution Service have proceeded with only a handful of charges of violent disorder and criminal damage.
After the last tech site I was working for collapsed in a heap of incompetence and unpaid wages (mainly mine, I reckon), I’ve decided to start up my very own website for tech related news, wirefresh.com.
We’ve already got around 50 articles on the site, and you can expect to find reviews, news, comment and the odd sarky comment or two.
I’d love to hear what you think about the site and your opinion of the articles, so please add a few comments if you feel so inspired.
Of all the news stories covered today, this one has got me the most excited: it’s Microsoft’s rumoured new ‘book’ PC and it looks fantastic.
Anyhow, check out the new site and tell me what you think!
I’m also looking for new writers too, so get in touch if you fancy penning the odd review.
Today, I spent the day employed on a film set near Smithfield Market, central London.
My day mainly involved me standing in street, drinking coffee, chatting to other extras and watching the film crew milling about.
Some hours later I was assigned a ‘walking down the street’ part, which involved being a silhouetted blob moving in front of a couple who were eating in a restaurant.
I shuffled around in front of the camera a few times more. At one point my role was reduced to being just a reflection in the window, but things were livened up by the director having a fabulous headphone throwing hissy fit.
The film is called ‘Blitz’ and it features Jason Statham playing an “aggro cop.” I doubt if I can be arsed to see it when it comes out, but look out for a be-dreaded reflection in the window of the restaurant scene.
Had a terrific time at Reclaim the Beach last night, dancing on the sandy shores of the River Thames before the incoming tide took the dancefloor away!
I’ve seen some great gigs at the Astoria in central London, but the end came on 14th Jan, 2009 when the venue was closed to make way for the construction of a new station for the Crossrail project.
The building, which was opened as a cinema on 1927, is now being flattened.
Here’s a few photos documenting its sad demise.
Looking up, January 2009 view.
Similar view, September 2009.
Around the back of the venue, Jan 2009.
Similar view from September 2009, showing just the ground floor of the building left.
Billed as “an innovative public project featuring a free daily program of events, arts, discussions, musicology and activities,” the Treehouse Gallery in Regent’s Park tasked itself with acting, ” as a catalyst to ignite the collective imagination, encouraging adults and children alike to explore a variety of creative responses to nature.”
We’re not entirely sure what all that means, but we definitely enjoyed our visit and found it a pleasant place to hang out for a while.
Looking like a road protest site transported into a central London Park, the Treehouse Gallery put on daily activities, talks and workshops, focussed around two large treehouses.
One & Other is a live artwork by sculptor Antony Gormley, giving 2,400 participants the chance to spend an hour alone on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square for 100 days and nights.
Urban75 regular Mation bagged herself a slot at the ungodly time of 2am to 3am on a chilly Friday morning, and a big turn out of Urbanites were in attendance to join in the party. And what a party it was!
Through some cunning technological wizardry, the music being played on the plinth was piped through this mobile sound system, getting the square resonating to techno.
The security guard jobsworths kicked off, so the sound system was moved out of their jurisdiction to the north of the plinth.
We paid another visit a few weeks back and checked out all the indoor galleries we missed last time.
They’ve currently got a great pop culture exhibition there, and after we’ve finished stuffing our faces with lovely Welsh cakes, we had a look around the Celtic village.
It’s easily one of our favourite museums in the UK.
