Anarchists hijack public sector pensions protest and storm Xstrata HQ in London

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60-strong gang break into offices of Xstrata, a mining firm
Make their way to the roof and unveil banners
Group of 23 remain in building for three hours before being arrested
Claim they targeted company because of chief executive's salary

By Rebecca Evans for the Daily Mail and Arthur Martin for the Daily Mail
Updated: 06:38 EST, 1 December 2011

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After laying siege to St Paul’s Cathedral for weeks, anarchists hijacked the pensions protest yesterday.

Amid violent clashes with police, members of the notorious anti-capitalist group Occupy London stormed the head office of a FTSE 100 company.

As 25,000 TUC strikers including a strong representation of teachers marched through the capital, the 60-strong gang broke away and forced their way into the West End offices of Xstrata, a multi-national mining firm.

Wide eyed: Police arrest an Occupy London protestor on the roof of Panton House, a building used by mining company Xstrata, whose offices were attacked by a group of protesters

Pinned down: Police handcuff an anti-capitalist protesters on the roof of Panton House. The protesters had unveiled a banner and set off flares

A demonstrator carries a lit flare during a rally as public service workers strike over pensions on Haymarket near Panton House

A demonstrator stands outside a building in central London with a flare burning brightly

Flames of hatred: A man carries a flare down Haymarket in central London after lighting it outside the head offices of Xstrata

Banner: A group of protesters run through London carrying a sign saying 'all power to the 99%'

The professional protesters got on to the roof of the four-storey building, where they unfurled a banner saying ‘All power to the 99%’ and set off flares.

Some tried to break into the office of the company’s boss Mick Davis to confront him over his ‘excessive’ pay.

In stark contrast to the summer riots, where police were criticised for allowing problems to escalate, hundreds of officers descended on the building within minutes and surrounded the protesters.

One of the demonstrators said: ‘We put the message out on Twitter to meet here. We want to make a stand about the huge pay rise Mick Davis has received.

Kettled: Police held a large group of protesters close to the building until the final people were removed in handcuffs

Heavy presence: A large number of police officers formed a cordon outside the offices of Xstrata following the storming by the anarchists

‘Someone let off a flare and we tried to put a sign out of the window but the police stopped us.

‘We wanted to get into Mick’s office, but it was locked. We wanted to ask him how he thinks he can justify his excessive pay packet.’

The gang stormed the building at around 3.30pm and within half an hour police had removed 30 of them.

Some of these later held up a banner outside, which read: ‘You get £18,426,105. We get austerity,’ in reference to their claim that Mr Davis had just received a 49 per cent pay rise.

A group of 23 – 16 men and seven women – stayed for a further three hours before being led away in handcuffs. After the first group were removed, police ‘kettled’ a small group of demonstrators – some of whom were smoking cannabis – in an area outside the office in Haymarket until the siege was over.

Tin blue line: A mobile police cordon was erected at Trafalgar Square to stop protesters making their way towards Parliament

An Occupy London spokesman said they were aiming the demonstration at Mr Davis because he was the highest-paid chief executive of all the FTSE 100 companies in the last year.

A total of 96 arrests were made during yesterday’s march in London. Many of the demonstrators said they were striking for the first time. Those representing the NAHT head teachers’ union, which has not taken industrial action on 114 years, arrived in suits and overcoats.

Also new to the strike action were London Ambulance dispatchers and paramedics, who had not been on strike since the 1970s.

Most of the banners on display were distributed by the big trade unions - Unite, Unison, the NUT and the PCS.