Any surprise they have chosen to do this so close to the G20 protests?

things have quietened down at Ramparts now as of 2pm. the 30 cops, 10 bailliff security guards and the owner of the address have withdrawn and packed up.

It began with a 'mystery' fire in the house next to Ramparts that was also under occupation at 7am. The fire brigade was called and the fire was put out. Almost at the same time, several security guards ( no identified bailiff) knocked on the door saying they wanted to do a firecheck inside Ramparts. As soon as they gained entry they declared that they were forcibly evicting everyone and taking possession of Ramparts. When asked to produce paperwork, they produced an eviction order from Dec 2007 that had been overturned and defeated before.

very soon all of the residents were up and mobile challenging the security guards. soon the cops arrived from Bethnel Green and a standoff begins whilst they checked out the fire(declaring it a 'crime scene'). A little while later the owner of ramparts turns up saying he has an up to date eviction order but then says to the police that he had left it in the office.

Meanwhile the security and bailliff guards attempt to unload masses of boarding up equipment, fully expecting to seal up all the buildings. Their path is blocked by activists, bad language and with threats to drive over activists from the drivers.

Its seems that the standoff lasts (with skimishes with the security guards) until about 2pm when the owner returns. What happened next is difficult to understand. The cops inspected the paperwork and then withdrew leaving the owner, bailliffs and security guards standing in the street.

so Ramparts is safe for the moment. The building next to it is badly damaged and it could be the work of a molotov cocktail from a security guard belonging to the owner.

everyone is talking about a cops g-20 eviction conspiracy. maybe its true. what i cannot understand is why the cops retreated the way they did. they could of taken and sealed ramparts but they didn't. What is clear is that extreme and forceful eviction techniques were attempted at Ramparts this morning that go way beyond a normal eviction.

If i have got anything wrong, please correct me people. Its worth working out what actually happened in Ramparts Street.