Thirty Six Tibet Protestors Arrested Whilst Olympic Torch Is Carried Through London

Due to the recent upsets over China's human rights record and the treatment of Tibet as a result, the Olympic torch has been the focus of pro-Tibetan protesters as it is carried across one country to another in front of the Olympic Games due to be held in Beijing starting on August the 8th this year. The route through London today was expected to be chaotic, but no one, not even the London Metropolitan police could have been prepared for what actually happened. The torch started it's journey from Wembley, the home of the new multi million pound sports stadium, and already saw the first arrest of the day. After that protesters tried in vain to get near to the torch in the hope of extinguishing the flame. One protester actually came from behind the crowd of police officers with a large fire extinguisher and opened the nozzle upon the unsuspecting carrier, a children's TV presenter, of the torch resulting in complete mayhem in which the protester was wrestled to the ground by a dozen officers. Strikingly, the Chinese ambassador for London carried the torch for a short while along the 31 mile relay route, hoping to make a diversion through the capitals' popular Chinatown, yet this had to be cancelled at the last moment due to fears of extension clashes with waiting protesters at the scene. Fears were heightened later on so much so that the carrier and the team of supervisors, ten Chinese flame attendants, running in a circle around the main person carrying the torch, took to a specially organised bus to complete much of the route. Tens of thousands of Brits, bearing the icy conditions and unseasonable heavy snow, flooded the route of the Olympic flame to see the torch on it's way before it's final destination at the O2 Dome in East London's, Greenwich. Police officers flanked the torchbearers right along the course due to massive security concerns. The protesters carried giant flags with "One China" written in big letters also shouted their protests at any press camera they could find, They had achieved today what they had set out to do - and although they wished to take away the flame, they took away the cheerful Olympic feeling instead, and left only political doubt in their path. Those athletes and celebrities taking part in the procession today were, by not means, shutting out the cause of the protesters in any way. In fact, many made a point of confirming this. Children's TV presenter, Konnie Huq told BBC News,

"I always said my taking part in the procession doesn't mean I condone China in any way."

Outside his residency at Number Ten Downing Street, Prime Minister, Gordon Brown saw the Olympic torch exchange hands from one runner to another, but did not hold it himself. In a political statement, he had decided to present himself outside his front door, despite calls for him to personally boycott the ceremony today. Yet Mr Brown's actions today were not to go unseen as Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said that he had felt that the actions and involvement of Brown in the concerns in China were, in his mind, "wholly inappropriate" until the under fire, China had started talks with the Dalai Lama. Speaking on behalf of the Beijing Olympic torch relay committee, Qu Yingpu told BBC news,

"This is not the right time, the right platform, for any people to voice their political views. So we are very grateful and very thankful to the people in London, the police and the organisers, for their efforts trying to keep order."

Interestingly, a news item was repeated on China's state-controlled TV today, but all scenes of the protests had been cut out from public viewing. Meanwhile, Met police have been accused of handling today's protests too heavy handed. Commander Jo Kaye said in defence of his force,

"Our duty is to see that that torch is taken safely and securely to the end of its route. We're doing that. We're on schedule. The convoy has kept going according to schedule all the way. People cannot just come in and cause havoc with what's being done there and the officers have stopped them. They know quite well that they shouldn't be trying to get in at the torch and they've been stopped."

Next stop for the torch and it's team will be Paris where the protesters are expected to follow the torch will also be carried up Mount Everest. This may be possibly, the only place where it won't be a protester trying to put the flame out but the lack of oxygen up there instead....