Mass brawl on the trading floor
Rob Singh and Catherine Bowen, Evening Standard,
18 February 2005
VIOLENT clashes between City traders and environmental protesters left 27 people in police custody today.
Oil traders reacted in fury when Greenpeace activists stormed the International Petroleum Exchange yesterday afternoon. There were further confrontations when protesters invaded an oil industry dinner at London's five-star Grosvenor House hotel.
Greenpeace members today accused traders of attacking peaceful protesters and behaving like 'Friday night thugs'. One said he had never seen such violence in 15 years of campaigning. But traders said they were only acting in self-defence and had feared for their safety.
More than 30 protesters invaded the IPE trading floor sounding whistles, horns and panic alarms in a bid to paralyse oil deals on the day the Kyoto Protocol, which aims to reduce global warming, came into force.
Two Greenpeace members unfurled a banner outside after scaling the walls and abseiling down the front of the building. But the traders fought back and two of the protesters inside were taken to hospital with injuries.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the arrests related to offences under Criminal Justice and Public Order Acts. Dozens of police were called to the fracas and roads were closed around the premises near Tower Bridge causing traffic chaos.
The protest began just after 2pm when two smartly dressed protesters walked into the exchange, distracting security by dropping money on the floor. They then made their way to the trading floor, linking up with another group and sounding horns to drown out 'open outcry' trading.
But the campaigners were forced to retreat by the reaction from irate traders. Peter Mulhall, 49, was taken to St Thomas' hospital with a swollen jaw after he was hit with shelving and punched in the face. Colin Newman was treated for concussion at the Royal London.
Mr Mulhall said: 'Right away when I got hit I said, 'It's okay we are going now - there's no need for violence.' But there was still kicking, punching and swearing.
'One trader pushed me against a wall and as I turned back, a very tall trader punched me full in the face. There was a guy unconscious on the floor, so we dragged him out. But initially he was still getting kicked by the traders.
'I thought this was supposed to be professional business. I did not expect it to be like the worst hooligans you see on a Friday night. I have been campaigning for 15 years, but I have never experienced violence like that. Never.'
Trader David Collins said: 'I was scared. I thought they might pull out weapons. We didn't hurt them but we made sure they didn't hurt us.'
A senior trader who would not be named said: 'We wanted to get on with our business. These people are an irritant.'
Activists dressed in dinner suits hijacked the hotel dinner, pouring red wine on banqueting tables. One protester was taken to St Mary's Hospital, Paddington.
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