The man, who appeared to be bleeding heavily after he was involved in a struggle with officers, was taken away on a stretcher. He has since been reported to be in a stable condition.
It came as 50 police stormed a former police station which had been taken over by anti-capitalist G8 protesters. Using angle-grinders to tear down barriers surrounding the property in Soho, central London, the officers came under fire from missiles hurled by masked squatters who shouted ‘freedom’.
Specialist officers also abseiled in from the roof to flush out activists. The Scotland Yard unit dragged around 40 out in handcuffs and herded them down a side street, with the violence marking the beginning of a week of demonstrations ahead of next week’s summit being held near Belfast from Monday.
Stand off: Footage showed a protester gripping
onto a chimney stack and precariously stepping along the roof with a
sheer drop behind him before being bundled down
Taking on the police: The activist appeared to
dash at police, who grabbed him and got him on the ground. The officers
were secured to the roof with safety ropes
Hurt: After being pinned down the mystery man clearly had blood pouring from his head before he was taken away on a stretcher
Dramatic moment: The protester gripped onto a
chimney stack before being bundled down onto his front by half a dozen
riot police in Soho, central London
Injured: Officers carry the man
away. He appeared to be bleeding profusely after a struggle with
officers. He is now reported to be in a stable condition
Stretchered: The injured man who was tackled on
the roof is pictured being wheeled into an ambulance on Golden Square in
Soho, adjacent to Beak Street
Medical help: The protester was later taken into
an ambulance for treatment in Soho, central London, after the dramatic
incident. His hands were secured with wrist ties
High up: Police stand on the rooftop of a
building where a man was tackled in Soho, central London. In roads
surrounding the area, scuffles broke out between hundreds of police and
protesters
Breaking in: This picture was taken in the
moments after police cut their way into the police station squat taken
over by G8 protesters and started dragging out activists
Operation: Police officers detain an activist
after raiding the building used as a base for demonstrators protesting
against the upcoming G8 summit, while another is taken away with a
bleeding head
In roads surrounding their
headquarters, scuffles broke out between some of the 1,200 police and
about 200 protesters, leading to at least 32 arrests. The agitators were taking part in the Stop G8 'Carnival Against Capitalism' - encouraged to 'show their anger' ahead of the G8 conference this month.
Many were clad head to toe in black and covered their faces with black scarves as they chanted 'No justice, no peace. F*** the police!'
Britain is hosting the summit for the world's eight leading industrialised nations at a golf resort in Northern Ireland, which Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend.
After a four-hour stand-off outside the Beak Street police station, officers dressed in full riot gear and armed with shields and batons managed to prise open the wooden door and piled in. Minutes later they dragged out around 40 protesters in handcuffs.
A few tried to resist but most went quietly as they were herded away down a side street and put in riot vans.
Incident: Police restrain a protester in
Soho, central London, amid demonstrations ahead of the G8 conference in
Northern Ireland next week
Chanting: A group set themselves up on the flat
roof of the police station they were squatting in before they were
forced out when police broke in
Fury: An anti-capitalist protester screams as he
is arrested and escorted by police after raiding their squat in Soho's
Beak Street
At least 32 arrests had been made for alleged offences including possession of articles with intent to commit criminal damage, assault on police, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon and failing to remove a face covering.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Officers attended an address in Beak Street with a search warrant 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.'
According to workers on the street, the protesters had been openly smoking drugs, drinking and fighting since arriving last Friday.
John Emmerson, 32, who works a few doors down on Beak Street, said the squatters clashed with a group of suited men on Friday evening. He said they were openly smoking cannabis and drinking lager, becoming aggressive if approached by locals.
He said: 'They got here around 4 o clock on Friday about maybe seven of them. Almost straight away there was a fight between them and around five guys wearing suits.
'I don't know what it was over but it was a fair old tussle with punches thrown and everything.
'Since then maybe 50 or so more have come, though it is hard to tell because it is such a massive building. On Friday they were smoking weed on the street and drinking lager, becoming quite rowdy actually.
'They would always have one or two outside keeping watch and a couple on the roof wearing masks. The guys on the roof were always shouting at you if you looked at them. They looked off their heads most of the time to be honest, on drugs.'
Shocked tourists reacted with fear after anti-capitalist demonstrators staged the roving demonstration.
Italian Alfio Gangeni told how he became ‘frightened for his children’ after he stumbled into noisy protests on Regents Street.
Mr Gangeni, 35, from Catania, in Sicily, said: ‘what is all this protesting for, what’s the point? ‘I did not expect London to be like this. I am frightened for my daughter, she is only two-years old.’
A Saudi visitor who gave her name as Fatima asked: 'What’s going on?
'Why are there so many police? Is there going to be any shooting?’
Students from some of London's most prestigious universities were among the throng of protesters which also included contingents from Germany, Spain and elsewhere in Europe who had travelled to London specifically to take part in the protests.
At one point several protesters gleefully pointed to the front cover of the Evening Standard newspaper which showed dozens of riot police at the demonstration.
Among the protesters was self-styled anarchist Adam Barr, 21, a Chinese and history student at SOAS University, who said: 'Obviously today is a G8 protest.
'We are protesting against globalisation and the capitalist system which clearly isn't working. This is one of the ways of getting our voices heard. The disruption is not ideal, but this is one of the only ways to get our message out to people.
'My parents are pretty left wing so they don't mind me protesting; they just don't want me to get arrested. There is a big SOAS contingent here, around 15 people.'
Arm lock: Police secure and detain a protestor. Many of the demonstrators had come from all over Europe
'The G8 sees the biggest leaders from al over the world come together, they are a bunch of b******s who ruin society and we need to get rid of them.
'I was in Beak Street, it was real overkill, around 300 coppers burst in on around 10 people having tea.
'I've been to a bunch of the meetings in the Soho squat. This protest is leaderless, people have come from all over Europe - Spain, all over.'
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