Protesters and police in violent clashes

Protesters stopped by police lines

Riot police were called in last night to control a crowd of anti-G8 protesters in Sheffield city centre.

Three people were arrested and police used truncheons on protesters who were frustrated at being kept out of earshot of justice and interior ministers attending a reception at the Winter Gardens.

A small protest, limited to 100 people had been allowed by the police to take place close to the venue, but 250 more were kept outside a wide exclusion area.

The second protest was a combination of a ‘critical mass’ bike-ride, which had earlier disrupted rush-hour traffic, and a silent protest against the limited size of what police called the “official protest”.

The silent protest featured people with their mouths taped up and blank placards. The groups converged on Division Street and marched towards the city centre just before 18:00.

Silent but visible protest

Police tried to shepherd the protesters away from the city centre. The first confrontation was on Fargate as demonstrators forced sparse police lines back 10 meters before reinforcements arrived.

The protesters, who represented a diverse set of groups, from Sheffield Dissent and the Stop The War Coalition to the Sheffield Green Party and Sheffield RESPECT Party, continued down a side-street, only to meet further police lines outside the Town Hall.

A stand-off ensued with light-hearted banter between protesters and an ever strengthening police force. Children and pensioners were part of the protest which chanted anti-G8 slogans, as they were prevented from getting closer to the ministers’ reception.

Gavin Grindon, a student from Nether Edge, where the G8 ministers are staying, summed up the general mood: “We are not allowed to protest anywhere near where the G8 ministers are meeting.

“We feel our right to protest has been curtailed. Freedom of speech and the right to protest are basic human rights.”

Gagged protest marches into city

Bernard Little, the Green Party candidate for Sheffield Central at the 2005 general election, said: “We knew this was going to happen when the city council backed Blunkett.

“Blunkett actually invited some of the world’s chief criminals. Would we have asked Herman Goering to this country?

“These people, who ignore United Nations resolutions, they are major criminals. These people need this sort of protest because they are dangerous.”

After almost an hour the protest moved off in search of a way to get closer to the Winter Garden. The crowd came to the Castle Square area and tried to force through the police cordon.

The protesters were held back as riot police replaced regular officers and two men and a youth were arrested for public order offences. A policewoman suffered a broken bone in her hand during the incident.