Protests begin ahead of G20 summit

Marches to the Bank of England took place from Cannon Street, Liverpool Street, London Bridge and Moorgate at 11am. Actions by Climate Camp and the Stop the War coalition are expected later in the day.

Gatherings in the City have been expected for weeks, as world leaders prepare to meet at the Excel centre in Royal Docks. And the chance to speak out on issues affecting the country drew people from all around England.

Ian Dixon travelled down from Whitby in North Yorkshire to protest with the National Savers and Pensioners Union.

The 45-year-old said: "A lot of people are affected around the country, young and old. My parents are retired, and cannot get any return on their savings because of the low interest rates.

"I worked in manufacturing as a purchasing administrator and I lost my job in December. I've struggled to find one since. I feel a bit peeved because the people who have been running the banks have made a lash up of the country and have walked away with big rewards. I got £5,000 in redundancy money after 13 years in the job.

"Gordon Brown is totally arrogant. He thinks he's doing a good job, but he should try living in some of these places in the North East which are struggling. People are unemployed and the only work available is part-time, which just isn't enough to live on.

"We're just trying to get our message across and make people aware of what's happening."

Whitby student Vinzcente Oliver, 22, said: "I've got savings in the bank and I'm getting nothing out of them. I want to be able to buy a house in future.

"We just want to make the people who have lots of money aware that there are lots of people out there that are very poor right now.

"We want to put the great back into Great Britain."

Hundreds of cyclists turned up in Bank at 9am for G20 Critical Mass, a two-wheeled tour of the City to discuss the flaws of carbon trading.

Participant Joe Gennifer said: "It seems like things are being planned all over the city, and I wish I could go to all of them.

"Capitalism is broken. It just doesn't work. But what are we going to put in its place?

"We need something that puts people before profit. We need to nationalise all industries and banks, except for small and family businesses. Then we need to hand them over to local authorities, and make sure that they represent all the workers such as key workers, not just the administrative classes.

"The world's attention is focused on London today. Karl Marx once said that you couldn't have a revolution in this country without a revolution in London.

"I don't know whether anything has changed in the last 100 years, but I suspect it hasn't."

Climate change protester Wiz Baines, who also took part in the ride, said: "We want to tell the G20 that we want action on climate change and we want it now. If we don't have it now, it is going to be too late.

"The last six months have made a mockery of the system. There are so many people that have been marginalised.

"We've seen the collusion going on, with the government putting money into industries that have no respect for climate change or anyone on the planet.

"It's going to be a fantastic day in terms of creative protests. It's an opportunity to show that we're not going to take it any longer.

"If some people choose to use violence there's not much anyone can do about it. But we've been very firm in our non-violent approach and anything like that would reflect badly on all the protests.

"We're all here on a non-violent basis. But we've lived with this corrupt system for too long, and there are alternatives."

Des Kay turned up on a home-made cycle complete with a blow-up dinosaur and wings with a message reading, "love your mum".

He said: "We're here to show there's an alternative to what we've been going through in the past. We need to steward the planet.

"World leaders have too many vested interests and it's down to individuals to take some responsibility.

"I think it's a shame that people are disassociated from everyday reality. They press a button and it affects the livelihood of people in third world countries. We need to reconnect with humanity."

Matt Baker stood amongst the crowd gathered at the Royal Exchange, daubed in Joker face-paint.

He said: "I'm interested to see how it pans out over the next few years, and whether a serious depression would lead to changes in the orthodox policies across the globe.

"I think a lot of people here don't have anything against bankers personally. The anger is more against the system that allowed this to happen.

"There's a big opportunity here for people to stand up, and it's important that we do."

Officers began patrolling Moorgate and the surrounding area around 9am. All police leave has been cancelled as more action is expected tomorrow when the summit begins.

Douggie Jones, of London Truth Action, planned to hand out DVDs and leaflets on the 9/11 conspiracy outside Moorgate station.

He said: "I think it's a huge opportunity for people to get out. The right to protest seems to be diminishing, particularly as a result of 7/7 and 9/11.

"We were stopped under section 44 of the Terrorism Act last month for holding up a banner outside the Convention on Modern Liberty, which I think is a little rich.

"It's important to get out there and voice these opinions that you don't see in the mainstream media."