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imc-dispatch | 11.08.2007 23:30 | Climate Camp 2007
Midnight saw the first arrival of police. Five police vans lined up outside the west gate, a couple more outside the east gate and several saloons denoting the presence of senior officers. A phalanx of cops then poured onto the site and demanded to speak to the "leaders". A quick call-out for people to the main gate seemed to overwhelm them and they beat a hasty retreat back to the vans. A fairly low-grade Forward Intelligence Team (FIT) was filming and stumbling over the bracken as it went.
One of the campers was reportedly threatened with arrest for throwing a very common swear word at the cops. Swearing is covered by the Public Order Act and is only an offense when it is likely to cause alarm or distress to those in hearing distance. Courts usually take a dim view of police claiming they were distressed by a language they experience everyday.
imc-dispatch