Squatters inside the building, a former police station in Beak Street, off Regent Street, accused police of heavy-handed tactics after they were led out by officers who forced their way in after a tense standoff lasting more than three hours.
TV footage showed officers in climbing gear trying to secure the roof, then grabbing a protester who appeared to be trying to jump off the rooftop.
The raid came on the day of the Stop G8 group's Carnival against Capitalism, targeting banks, hedge funds, mining and oil firms in central London as well as Claridge's hotel and Boodle's private club in the runup to the summit in County Fermanagh. The protests were concentrated on Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus. Police said 57 arrests were made in relation to the G8 protests.
A Metropolitan police spokesman said the force obtained a search warrant for the Beak Street property "relating to intelligence that individuals at the address were in possession of weapons and were intent on causing criminal damage and engaging in violent disorder".
A handful of squatters are believed to have arrived on Friday, with many more subsequently joining them.
People ejected from the building said about 200 people had been inside. A banner hung from the building said: "What if we smash the G8?"
More than 100 officers were stationed outside the property from 10am. During the standoff, some protesters, many wearing masks, dangled their legs over a ledge of the building while others popped their heads out of the window, occasionally chanting anti-capitalist slogans and "Fuck the police."
At 1.40pm, police began using chainsaws and crowbars to enter.
Protesters started emerging, most showing little sign of resistance, and were still being brought out 45 minutes later, suggesting officers had faced multiple barriers inside the property.
Police said those who had been in the building were free to leave once they had been searched.
Police did not provide a breakdown of how many of the 32 G8 protest arrests related to the Beak Street raid.
Dozens of the squatters hung around after they were led out, discussing where to go next.
One man, who did not wish to be named, said: "I think it's police brutality, to enter a completely legal squat. They're just trying to stop any protests. It's pretty scary."
He claimed that he saw blood on a police riot shield. One person, who had apparently been removed from the building, was taken away in an ambulance. Witnesses said he was bleeding and was being given oxygen.
A London Ambulance spokesman said: "We treated two patients at the scene of the protests in central London. Both have been taken to hospital with minor injuries."
The leaders of the world's eight wealthiest countries, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel, are due to meet at the luxury Lough Erne resort in Co Fermanagh for the conference on 17-18 June.
Original Article
Source: guardian.co.uk
Author: Haroon Siddique
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