Six arrested over suspected plan to disrupt London Stock Exchange

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Six members of a pro-Palestine activist group have been arrested in connection with a plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange.

Met Police said the Palestine Action activists were intending to target the London Stock Exchange on Monday morning.

The group intended to cause damage by “locking on” in an effort to prevent the building opening for trading, according to information passed on by the Daily Express newspaper.

A 31-year-old man was arrested on Sunday in Liverpool on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage.

A further five people, all believed to be part of the same plot, were arrested later on Sunday for the same offence, Scotland Yard said.

A 29-year-old woman was arrested in Albert Road, Brent, and a 23-year-old man was arrested in Voss Street, Tower Hamlets.

Two women, aged 28 and 26, were arrested in Liverpool. A 27-year-old man was arrested in Brighton. The force added that there was a “suggestion that this was one part of a planned week of action”.

Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas said: “These are significant arrests. We believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully.

“I’m grateful to The Express for their willingness to provide the information gleaned from their own investigation. It was instrumental in helping us intervene successfully.

“Having only been provided with the material on Friday afternoon we had limited time to act.

“It is thanks to the determined efforts from our Public Order Crime team and our colleagues in Merseyside that we were able to identify, locate and arrest those we suspect to be involved in this plot.

“Mindful of the suggestion that this was one part of a planned week of action, we are in contact with the City of London Police as well as other forces across the UK to ensure that appropriate resources are in place to deal with any disruption in the coming days.”

A Palestine Action spokesperson told The Independent: “The London Stock Exchange raise billions of pounds for apartheid Israel and trade shares in weapons manufacturers who arm Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.

“While Britain remains complicit in the brutal colonisation of Palestine, our direct action campaign will not be deterred.”

It comes as thousands of protesters took to the streets of London on Saturday to march against the ongoing attacks in Gaza, as part of a global day of action against Israel’s invasion.