wooo it's live! and with that shite thistle logo...

Interesting highlights include:

MEDIA CENTRE + ACCOMODATION

The Media Centre will be located at the Gleneagles Equestrian Centre, near the Gleneagles Hotel. The Media Centre will offer workspaces with telephones with analogue and digital modem connections, a small number of computers providing Internet access, faxes, photocopiers and offices for International News Agencies.

Accommodation for the G8 Summit 2005 (from the media section)
Booking for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth and Dundee.

Quote for edinburgh and glasgow:
Hotels are..."conveniently located to pick up the official coaches which will take media through the streamlined security process and on to the media centre at the Gleneagles Hotel.

 https://seeglasgow.com/secure/2005/map.asp

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How many people will be involved?

There will be some 200 people staying at the hotel during the Summit. In addition there will be security personnel, extra delegation members (depending on the wishes of the G8 country concerned) and possibly some 3,000 media accommodated in the surrounding area.


Will NGOs and charities be involved?

There will be an extensive programme of dialogue with groups like these – ‘civil society’ - during the Presidency, and in part in the run up to the Summit.


Will the leaders go anywhere outside Gleneagles Hotel?

The aim of holding Summit at Gleneagles Hotel is to create a ‘retreat’ style meeting for the leaders. There are no plans for the leaders to do anything outside the venue.


How big will the security cordon be and will there be no-go areas?

At this stage the police cannot release details of where the cordon will be. Gleneagles Hotel and its amenities will be closed for the minimum time possible, consistent with the necessity to provide security to the leaders of the G8. Tayside Police will endeavour to keep local people fully informed of any arrangements that may impact on day today life in the communities around Gleneagles Hotel.

What scale and type of security will there be?

Gleneagles Hotel and the surrounding grounds will be the focus of a major security operation. There will be a cordon and checks on people and vehicles moving around the immediate area.

Protesters

What information do you have about the numbers of people that will come to protest?

At this stage it would be foolish to speculate regarding the numbers of any protesters and their intentions. There are many significant events that will take place prior to the Summit, which may colour the agenda of any protest. Tayside Police has planned a major security operation to ensure that those who come to protest lawfully will be facilitated but those who do otherwise will be dealt with robustly. It’s hoped that recognised protest groups will take the opportunity to work with the police to this end.

What is the lawful position regarding protest in Scotland?

Under the law, all public processions in Scotland must apply to the local authority for the area and receive approval. Any local authorities receiving such an application must consult the chief constable for the area. Under the Public Order Act 1986, it is an offence for anyone taking part in a demonstration not to comply with any conditions imposed by the police. Any processions and demonstrations which take place will be policed appropriately. Anyone who breaks the law, whether on a public procession or a demonstration, will be dealt with using the full force of the law.

What happens if I am suspicious of someone?

Members of the public often report suspicious incidents to the police and they should continue to do this. Extra vigilance by the public will help the security operation.

Will local residents have to allow extra travelling time to go to work and back etc?

Given Auchterarder’s proximity to Gleneagles Hotel, there will be a need to implement a traffic management plan in the area. Those with a legitimate reason to enter or leave Auchterarder will be allowed access to their homes and businesses. There will be a significant police presence on the roads in the area to help keep traffic moving.

Is there the possibility of sponsorship deals?

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is actively seeking private sector partners. Interested companies should contact Lexis PR, the sponsorship consultants for the G8 presidency

Betty Maitland:  bmaitland@lexispr.com, 07979 656542
Matthew Elton:  melton@lexispr.com

In the "community news" sheet from local police and council it says that residents should expect that they will not be allowed have visitors stay with them during the G8.

 melton@lexispr.com is the email address for the PR consultant hired by the Foreign Office to deal with corporate partnerships for the g8 summit according to the official g8 website. Im sure there are many an entrepreneur amongst you...

"Tayside Police has planned a major security operation to ensure that those who come to protest lawfully will be facilitated but those who do otherwise will be dealt with robustly"

that's an interesting expression 'robustly'. If I remember correctly that's how robocop senior Mike Todd described the met's policing of mayday in 2000. It cropped up again after genoe when Tony Blair defended the 'robust' methods of the italian police. So if precedent is anything to go by that should read "those who do otherwise we will beat as many as we can to a pulp". Of course, in neither instance were the police on the ground that bothered about the niceties of who was acting lawfully or not. So when these people start trotting out their euphemisms, be sure of knowing what they mean.

Btw, any of these liberal types going to get on the case of the filth about potentially violent police actions during the summit, or are they going to run about convergence spaces flapping about 'violent protestors' before anything has even happened as per usual?

There's a whole bunch of questions that will need answering, esp if cordons are going to be close to Gleneagles then people need to know for example about the authorisation of lethal force, and about the US secret service authorisations (remember the bush visit).

Blair should be challenged over his public support for the genoa police in 2002.

Of course there's a massive PR machine effort underway here - from the local community info sheets and meetings produced by the police (erm which also sing the praises of blair re debt and climate change.... quite worrying development here and definate political policing... erm any MSP / lib dem / tory types want to start looking at this?) through to the massive media spin campaign.

Wonder how much the PR agency was paid to come up with the J8 idea.

>Hotels are..."conveniently located to pick up the official
>coaches which will take media through the streamlined
>security process and on to the media centre at the
>Gleneagles Hotel.

So, "journalists" from the Daily Wail and Sun are going to get special treatment by Tony's Cronies. What a surprise.

>There will be an extensive programme of dialogue with groups
>like these – ‘civil society’ - during the Presidency, and
>in part in the run up to the Summit.

Provided they support B Liar's policies they will be given a place out of public and mass media view to "protest". Exactly the same thing happened with the opening of the folly that is called the "Scottish Parliament" (despite a building being nothing important to do with a parliament).

>The aim of holding Summit at Gleneagles Hotel is to create a
>‘retreat’ style meeting for the leaders. There are no plans for
>the leaders to do anything outside the venue.

In other words they are too scared of the general public's reaction to them to venture outside their cosy little bubble. Exactly the same thing as when the war criminal visited the UK to thenk B Liar for helping in in illegal invasion in order to grab oil abd bases in Iraq.

>Tayside Police will endeavour to keep local people fully informed
>of any arrangements that may impact on day today life in the
>communities around Gleneagles Hotel.

Lothian and Borders Police made a mess of Edinburgh when a bunch of criminals came to Edinburgh for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. This will be worse as the criminals are rich.

>There will be a cordon and checks on people and vehicles moving
>around the immediate area.

Which they don't bother to define. Expect illegal interference with your freedom over a wide area of Scotland, from Edinburgh to at least Perth.

>Tayside Police has planned a major security operation to ensure that
>those who come to protest lawfully will be facilitated

That will be a first. What they mean is that people will be facilitated to protest in an industrial estate, while the "journalists" from the Daily Wail and Sun inside the "streamlined security process" report that there are no protests.

>Under the law, all public processions in Scotland must apply to
>the local authority for the area and receive approval. Any local
>authorities receiving such an application must consult the chief
>constable for the area.

That is correct and it was used to try and suppress marches against the illegal war in Iraq.

>Any processions and demonstrations which take place will be policed
>appropriately.

Not likely. Processions and demonstrations by the G8 criminals will be ignored. Anyone who disagrees will be shat upon.

>Members of the public often report suspicious incidents to the
>police and they should continue to do this. Extra vigilance by
>the public will help the security operation.

Tony B Liar has already been reported to the police. They failed to do anything in response, such as arresting him for war crimes.

>Given Auchterarder’s proximity to Gleneagles Hotel, there will
>be a need to implement a traffic management plan in the area.

Translation. Anyone who looks like they might oppose B Liar's views will be kept from causing a disturbance to the cosy version of Scotland B Liar will be presenting.

By the way B Liar seldom comes to Scotland, he doesn't like it and the locals don't like him.

>The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is actively seeking private
>sector partners.

Indymedia should sponsor it, with particular reference to the theft of computers by the "law enforcement" people of "friendly" governments.