BBC report on the May Day protests

May 1, 2001 8:43 AM

BBC report on the May Day protests On the whole I've been shocked by how uninformed the BBC has been, especially in comparison with The Guardian's comprehensive coverage. Having attended the Oxford Circus demonstration, I be sure of two facts: one, that the gathering was almost entirely peaceful... and two, that the heavy-handed police action is likely to incite frustration and violence. Remember, kids: the 3,000 'protesters' include ordinary members of the public caught in the police blockade.
posted by tobyslater (8 comments total)

What is very cool on the Guardian's site is the list of webcams, esp. those looking into Oxford Circus. Given the level of hype the police have built up, they need a riot to justify the expense.
posted by laukf at 8:53 AM on May 1, 2001

The expense, yes! Good point. Apparently they had a £20,000 breakfast this morning. And did you know that half of the police vans were hired from private companies, not to mention the expensive A/V gear they have- much of it also hired. But the bit which I liked the most was that the police have bought thousands of sandwiches, drinks and other snacks to keep well fed while they barricade protesters into the centre of Oxford Circus.

Meanwhile on BBC News 24, the Conservative spokesman for London says: "The protesters are hypocrites, riding their bicycles which are produced by sweatshop labourers in China..."
posted by tobyslater at 9:27 AM on May 1, 2001

Hmm.. Some of the webcams I mentioned have now been taken down. UK Indymedia has good real audio coverage. A good day for web journalism I think.
posted by laukf at 9:28 AM on May 1, 2001

£1million in police overtime and expenses: divided by 6,000 coppers, and you have a fair sum for an afternoon's heavy-handed twattishness. I bet they're loving it.
posted by holgate at 10:54 AM on May 1, 2001

China?? WTF??
Most aluminium bike frames are made in Taiwan, not China. Silly conservatives, can't even get the little things right...
posted by theparanoidandroid at 2:38 PM on May 1, 2001

Reminder to folks in San Francisco: The Reclaim the Streets Mayday Party starts at 5:30 PM, in Justin Herman Plaza (Market and Embarcadero)
posted by johnb at 4:08 PM on May 1, 2001

It was interesting to see that the BBC's coverage varied between different services. BBC 1's 10 O'Clock News was much more reactionary and with far less explanation of the background to the protests compared to BBC News 24's bulletin at the same time.
posted by kerplunk at 8:00 AM on May 2, 2001

Interestingly, at about 9:30am, the picture on the Guardian.co.uk front page turned from a happy copper wielding his truncheon like a well-practised thug to a helmeted riot officer.
posted by holgate at 1:07 PM on May 2, 2001