Feb 2010 - my london diary

	Cleaners Call 'Reinstate Alberto' UBS, Liverpool St, London. Friday 12 Feb 2010 Clearly I was not in any way a security risk when I took this picture, but of course that was the reason the security man gave when he told me I was not allowed to photograph on this area of bank owned pavement open to the public and threatened to call the police
	Of course it isn't about security at all, but about property rights and embarasment.
	The police were called, not for me (I more or less complied with the request) but for the protesters
	The police made clear that the protest could not take place on private land - even though it was open to the public normally
	And although the protest started on the wide privately owned pavement and roadway in front of the UBS offices

			eventually it had to move to the rather narrow public pavement, where it created an obstruction.
			Although the law gives UBS the right to restrict acrtivities on their property, it doesn't appear to me to be the proper business of the police to enforce this where there is no criminal activity or danger to public order involved. Its hard not to see the police behaviour as protecting the interests of money rather than the public good.
			more pictures