Olympic torch attacked during London events

Demonstrators attempt to break through barriers in Whitehall

The journey through London of the Olympic torch was marred by violence, protests and arrests. The torch started its 50 km procession from Wembley at 10:30 but within minutes protesters were attempting to disrupt proceedings. Thirty-five arrests were made throughout the day as police clashed with pro-Tibet protesters. Expected protests over China's human rights record prompted the Metropolitan Police to mount a massive security operation costing in excess of £1 million. One protester tried to snatch the torch from former Blue Peter host Konnie Huq. He was quickly apprehended by the police but it resulted in an increased police presence around the torch as it made its way through London’s streets. It was a surreal image as torch bearers surrounded by the Beijing security team and dozens of police officers passed crowds of sightseers who were often unable to see anything. The security fears resulted in an unpublicised change to the route so the Chinese ambassador could safely carry the torch through Chinatown. Fu Ying carried the Olympic torch only a few hundred metres before handing it onto another of nearly 80 torch bearers. In another incident a man was arrested when he attempted to extinguish the torch with a fire extinguisher.

Further trouble occurred when the Olympic flame entered Downing Street. Hundreds of pro-Tibetan demonstrators gathered in Whitehall shouted “Shame” and “China out” as Gordon Brown received the Olympic torch. Some of the protesters attempted to breach the barriers but were kept back by hundreds of police including some on horse back. There were noisy but otherwise peaceful stand-offs between pro-Tibetan demonstrators and Chinese Olympic supporters. Nearly 500 mostly Chinese students sang the Chinese national anthem sometime called the March of the Volunteers and shouting “Tibet is a part of China”. There were also calls from some to “fight them” (the pro-Tibetan demonstrators), but there was little enthusiasm amongst the Chinese part of the crowd to become embroiled in violence.

After hours of saturation coverage on both Sky News and BBC News 24 the Olympic flame finally completed its arduous journey to the O2 Arena. But it was little victory for China who had seen the pride of holding the Olympics ridiculed and openly criticised. Tomorrow’s headlines in many of the world’s papers will be how protesters once again disrupted the path of the Olympic flame. While it remained the main headline on Sky, the BBC, ITN and CNN for the disruption, there was little mention on CCTV-9 nor on the Chinese state run news agency website Xinhua.