UK Uncut are well known to the Met. They are very organized and they protest peacefully. They also cooperate with the police. The Met, however, promised activists from UK Uncut that protesters inside Fortnum & Mason would be escorted to safety. Instead, police conducted mass arrests as soon as they left the building.

Activists say they were given repeated assurances by a chief inspector from the Metropolitan police that they would be shown to safety after the protest, which she described as non-violent and sensible. However, when protesters left the luxury Piccadilly store on police instruction, they were kettled, handcuffed and taken into custody.

In the video, shot by observers for the legal volunteer group Green & Black Cross, a police officer can be seen telling protesters they would be directed towards “the safest parts” once they had left the building.

You can read a lot more at The Guardian.