Plot to disrupt London Stock Exchange foiled

A man has been charged with conspiracy to cause public nuisance and a further five people have been bailed after police in London moved in on a gang aiming to disrupt the London Stock Exchange as a part of a protest related to the conflict in Gaza.

Information was passed to London's Metropolitan Police, known as the Met, by the Daily Express newspaper, after one of its reporters infiltrated a group called Palestine Action.

The newspaper reported that members of the group had targeted the stock exchange at the start of a planned "week of chaos", which it said could have caused "huge economic damage", with group members planning to chain themselves by the neck to the doors of the building, and spray red paint through fire extinguishers.

A message allegedly sent by a leading figure in the group on encrypted messaging app Signal said the alleged action was to be part of a week of unrest to protest against United Kingdom institutions "complicit in Israeli apartheid".

A 31-year-old man from Liverpool in the northwest of England was due to appear in court on Monday in relation to the case. The other people questioned were from Liverpool, London, and Brighton, on the south coast.

"We believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt, which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully," said Met officer Sian Thomas.

"I'm grateful to The Express for their willingness to provide the information gleaned from their own investigation. It was instrumental in helping us intervene successfully. Having only been provided with the material on Friday afternoon, we had limited time to act."

She added that, in light of the suggestion of a week of planned disruption, the Met had been in touch with the City of London police service, in whose area the London Stock Exchange is situated, as well as police forces in other parts of the country, to ensure appropriate resources were available to counter any possible threats.

Later on Monday morning, the Palestine Action X social media account showed pictures of the London office of Canadian bank ScotiaBank after it had been covered in red paint.

The group claims ScotiaBank is the largest foreign investor in Israel's biggest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems.

Palestine Action was formed in July 2020 and says its aim is to shut down the arms trade with Israel.

Its members have been involved in several incidents of direct action recently.

In December, its co-founder Richard Barnard was convicted of criminal damage for his involvement in a long-running protest at a factory owned by Elbit Systems in Oldham, Greater Manchester, which culminated in the company selling the site in January 2022.

"Direct action works," the Oldham Times newspaper quoted a group spokesperson as saying at the time. "The brave individuals who occupied the factory over the past year can proudly say that drone technologies are no longer in production in Oldham."