LONDON—The editors in the Chinese newsrooms must have been busy as the Olympic torch passed through London on Sunday. A protester grabbing the torch, an attempt to put it out with a fire-extinguisher, and a heavy police presence are not images the Chinese people will see—or images the regime wanted the rest of the world to see.
On its 31 mile journey through the streets of London the Olympic torch was flanked by dozens of British policemen as hundreds more held back banks of hundreds of flag-toting protesters on either side.
The event was always going to be controversial. The recent violence in Tibet and the fact that the Prime Minster was to attend the ceremony at Downing Street, had already put the event under the spotlight.
The leader of the Liberal Democrat Party, Nick Clegg, who has already urged the Prime Minister to boycott of the opening ceremony, said that Gordon Brown’s participation in today’s torch procession was “wholly inappropriate”.
The protesters congregated more heavily around certain key points, earlier in the procession taking the opportunity to break through security on several occasions.
TV footage reveals how one protester broke through the police security cordon to grab the torch whilst it was being carried by ex-Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq. The surrounding entourage of 8 Chinese blue track-suited men quickly held the torch, while police wrestled the protester to the ground.
Whitehall—the broad main road running up from the houses of Parliament which is home many government buildings—was closed to traffic as protesters gathered opposite the entrance to Downing Street, where the Prime Minister was due to participate in the ceremony.
The secretary of culture Tessa Jowell said that there had been 18 arrests by the time the flame had reached Downing Street, just two hours after it started its journey. 2,000 police had been deployed to handle the event.
Protesters had gathered en mass outside of Bloomsbury Square where the Chinese Ambassador—at one point thought to have decided not to participate in the relay—was expected to pick up the torch.
However, the plans were changed at the last minute, and she carried the flame instead into Chinatown, whisked away seconds after finishing her leg.
