Tens of thousands gather for London pre-G20 march

LONDON: Tens of thousands of trade unionists, environmental campaigners and anti-globalisation activists took to the streets of London on Saturday to start five days of protests before the G20 summit.

Organisers of the march for "jobs, justice and climate" have rejected as "smears" claims in police briefings that the demonstration could be hijacked by anarchists bent on violence.

An alliance of more than 150 unions and environment, charity, faith and development groups will march from Hyde Park through the capital to demand action to save jobs, create a low-carbon economy and stricter controls on the finance sector.

The general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, Brendan Barber, said: "Never before has such a wide coalition come together with such a clear message for world leaders.

"The old ideas of unregulated free markets do not work, and have brought the world's economy to near-collapse, failed to fight poverty and have done far too little to move to a low-carbon economy."

Organisers said they were expecting hundreds of thousands of people to join the march.

World leaders, including US President Barack Obama on his first visit to Europe since he took office, will gather in London on Thursday for the Group of 20 summit.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hopes the meeting will help to set the world on the road to recovery from the deepest recession since the 1930s.

The police are most concerned about the potential for violence during protests on Wednesday, dubbed "Financial Fools Day" by demonstrators, when an anti-war march will be held and climate change campaigners will set up a camp in the City of London financial district.