Met: Tidy up to avoid trouble at anti-cuts demo

Police are urging businesses to clear buildings of loose equipment or debris that could be used as weapons during the TUC march against government cuts in London on Saturday.

Thousands of officers are being drafted in to police the event amid concerns that it could be hijacked by anarchist groups and violent protesters.

Up to 250,000 people are expected to join the march, which will culminate in a rally in Hyde Park.

But the numbers are expected to be swelled by unofficial "feeder" marches. Actions planned include an invasion of banks and Oxford Street shops linked to companies accused of tax dodging. One group has a Facebook page called "Shut Down London" and another, UK Uncut, is plotting to occupy a "top secret target".

Others are calling for protesters to "turn Trafalgar Square into Tahrir Square" in an attempt to replicate the mass occupation protests in Cairo.

There are also calls for a 24-hour rally in Hyde Park with participants being urged to bring tents and lavatories to turn it into a semi-permanent camp.

Anarchist groups such as the Black Block have told supporters to dress in black hoodies to avoid identification.

Scotland Yard has written to businesses asking them to assign visible security staff to premises, secure doors and check that CCTV is working. Police are also urging managers to ensure that "building perimeters are clear of dustbins, ladders or loose tools and equipment, which could be used to gain access or used as weapons".

The Met is expected to employ a new tactic to deal with any crowd violence. But Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens, who is in charge of public order policing, said the tactic "has not been trialled yet" because the two previous protests for which it was in place remained peaceful.

The TUC has 2,500 stewards for the event and is laying on 600 coaches and chartered trains for supporters from across the country. A number of police are expected to join the march on their day off in protest at cuts.

One police source said: "The TUC march is normally peaceful but the intelligence is that a number of groups are planning trouble."

The march will set off at noon along the Victoria Embankment, Bridge Street, Parliament Square, Parliament Street, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Cockspur Street, Pall Mall, Waterloo Place, Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner, Park Lane and South Carriage Drive before arriving in Hyde Park.