Several groups including Amnesty International have questioned the reliability of the evidence which incuded alleged falsified balistics reports and falsified eye-witness accounts alongside alleged links between jury members and the prosecuting authorities. Black people on the jury were questionably under-represented considering the ethnic make up of the state of Pennsylvania.

At about 3.50pm police guarding the embassy noticed that a woman had d-locked herself to the reception doors. Several attempts were made to remove the lock which held the woman from the Bristol Mumia support group to the gates. After a 20-minute wait, during which the woman shouted "Free Mumia Abu-Jamal" and "American democracy equals hypocrisy", the police arrived with more powerful bolt-cutters and managed to remove her. The growing crowd cheered support as she was hauled away from Grosvenor Square in a police van.

During the scuffle a sound system had been able to set up and police officers watched on in surprise as PA was unloaded from a Transit van while speakers gathered to rally the crowd and highlight the issue of US political prisoners - which Mumia is considered to be.

29-year-old Andy from east London and a supporter of the Mumia Must (MML) campaign explained why he had chosen to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon outside the US embassy. "This is part of a global day of action which coincides on this date with the bombing by Federal forces of the MOVE headquarters (a black political group based in Philadelphia) in the United States in 1985".

Becky, part of the MML campaign stated her reasons for being at the demonstration: "My main involvement is for Mumia - one of the reason he was targetted by the Philadelphia police as a radical journnalist was because he spent most time reporting the brutal repression of MOVE - he was one of the few journalists around telling the truth."

Responding to whether she felt if he was a political prisoner she responded: "He was actually targeted from the age of 15 as a member of the Black Panthers - he was targetted by COINTELPRO (the name given to the FBI investigation into the Black Panthers)."

By 4.40pm several speakers including representatives from MML, the African United Action Front (AUAF) and Jeremy Corbyn MP spoke to a crowd now numbering about 200. "What do we want - free Mumia; when do we want it - now".

With the death penalty in the US coming under increasing criticism because of the disproportionate number of black and non-white people held on death row. Conversations in the crowd focused on injustice and a mixed-race group of protestors began dancing as Rage Against the Machine was played from the back of the Transit. Several cars beeped in support.

Liz Obi, a member of Friends of MOVE had joined the demonstration with a note of optimism. She explained that 8 of the original MOVE family members are serving sentences of between 30-100 years. She highlighted the reason she was attending: "To remember the May 13 massacre of MOVE family members - including John Africa, the founder of MOVE family as well as 5 children and to free Mumia. Mumia was a journalist in Philadelphia and was covering the MOVE story, that was the reason he was targetted".

When asked what she hoped the demonstration would achieveLiz responded: "The ultimate aim is for Mumia to be released and to get a retrial and also to put the focus on MOVE and the MOVE prisoners."

Liz is a veteran protestor who has been involved for over 5 years, helping to organise the initial protests in 1995; "In 1995 we organised a 15-day picket outside this embassy as part of a worldwide protest - they signed his death warrent and then thay granted him a stay of execution. If we sit back at home and watch TV we don't stand no chance. We were here 24/7 and we slept on the pavements."

With reggae beats now pulsating out from the nearby van the atmosphere was transformed into a carnival. It may have been a fun ending but a seriousness left with the crowds.

The police had thoroughly prepared themselves for the immense threat posed to the Royals by a few bare butts. Large parts of the square in front of Buckingham Palace were cordoned off, and 20 vanloads of police were there, ready to face the 50 or so protestors, while a police helicopter was controlling the air space over the Palace...

This massive show of force had been prepared in many newspaper articles during the run-up to the event. The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir John Stevens, had announced that the Royal Family "could be at risk" (Daily Mail) due to secret anarchist action plans. The papers happily took up this thread, suggesting that masses of violent anarchists were going to target the Queen, implying some sort of physical threat.

There can't be any doubt that both the media and the police commissioner were completely aware that their assumptions did not quite match the reality. Leaflets and stickers called for a public mooning, and Ian Bone told everyone who wanted to listen what it's all about: "We wnat to do something which is fun, which is absurd, which will attract more than the ususal politico punters, which isn't going to be seen as an opportunity for a punch-up, and was just a good chance to use the Maori tactic of showing your arse to the monarchy. So that's all it is." (Big Issue May 22nd).

So there must be another reason for the attacks in the media. Bone suggests, also in the Big Issue, that "there's a clear agenda to try and outlaw protest in central London, to put Jack Straw a bit further. I think he [the police commissioner] knows Straw's weak and if the police keep saying there's a chance of disorder, he'll end up agreeing to ban demonstrations." This could start happening in a few months' time, when the new anti-Terrorism Bill is likely to become law. The new definition of terrorism it implies could mean that actions of political dissent, such as this one, can be called terrorist and accordingly be banned. Claiming that these actions pose physical threats surely prepares the public for what is to come.