British police announced Sunday that they made six arrests in an alleged plot involving the Palestine Action group’s plot to disrupt the operations of the London Stock Exchange.
The Met Police said in a press release that they were provided with information about the plot to disrupt the stock exchange from the media outlet Daily Express on Friday. The Express published an exclusive story about the plot on Sunday morning, in which one of the outlet’s reporters posed as a prospective group member as part of a two-month investigation.
The pro-Palestine plotters planned to chain themselves by the neck to the stock exchange’s entrances on Monday, in one case with the use of a ladder placed above revolving doors, to prevent the exchange from opening and to prolong the disruption for a full working day if possible, the Express reported.
"These are significant arrests," Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas said in the press release. "We believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully."
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"I’m grateful to the Express for their willingness to provide the information gleaned from their own investigation. It was instrumental in helping us intervene successfully," Thomas added. "Having only been provided with the material on Friday afternoon we had limited time to act."
"Mindful of the suggestion that this was one part of a planned week of action, we are in contact with the City of London Police as well as other forces across the UK to ensure that appropriate resources are in place to deal with any disruption in the coming days," Thomas continued.
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Though the plotters sought to disrupt trading, no trading takes place at the London Stock Exchange itself, as equity trading is fully electronic, and the exchange hasn’t had a physical trading floor since 1986.
The London Stock Exchange declined to comment on the topic at this time.
The police said the arrests were made in the early hours of Sunday morning, including a 31-year-old man and two women, aged 28 and 26, in the northern English city of Liverpool; a 29-year-old woman and 23-year-old man in London; and a 27-year-old man in the south coast city of Brighton.
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Police indicated that all six remain in custody.
Reuters contributed to this report.
