TUESDAY MAY 01 2001
Police target masterminds of
city chaos
BY DANIEL MCGRORY AND STEWART TENDLER
POLICE have identified nine figures they
suspect of masterminding today’s attempt to
paralyse London.
Scotland Yard has sent them all letters asking
them to outline their plans for the day’s
demonstrations. All have refused to co-operate.
One of those is Alessio Lunghi, a 23-year-old
anarchist who lives in a flat in South London
with his sister. Police believe he helped to
create the elaborate Mayday Monopoly website
which encourages demonstrators to converge on
addresses taken from the board game that are
linked to various protests.
Mr Lunghi is understood to have taken part in
previous May Day demonstrations in London
and also attended last year’s protest in Prague
where he met leaders from Ya Basta! (Enough!)
and other international anarchist movements.
He is not wanted by the police and is not among
the 25 photographed causing violence at last
year’s protest. However, one source said: “He is
a major driving force and is, we believe, a key
organiser of this protest.” Mr Lunghi is linked
by police to the Wombles, one of the protest
groups about which police are particularly
concerned and which has links to Italy.
Mr Lunghi’s father is Italian and his mother is
British and used to work as a school
administration officer. He was brought up in
Camberwell.
Another key figure is said to be a woman known
only as “Diane,” who lives in Bristol and whose
daughter has been to recent protests, including
those in Prague and Davos.
Police will keep a watch on all nine today and
will look for any sign of the 25 anarchists
captured by photographers causing trouble at
last year’s May Day protest who have yet to be
arrested.
Senior officers admitted they had not traced all
the ringleaders. Special Branch officers are
searching for an abandoned factory or
warehouse in London being used as a training
centre and base to feed and shelter protesters
from abroad.
Although police no longer believe many foreign
protesters will come to London, Scotland Yard
has been warned by the Quebec authorities that
protesters who took part in the violent attacks at
an international summit last month are heading
for Britain.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-122698,00.html
