MORE than 130 people were arrested near the Olympic Stadium last night.
Police moved in to prevent a monthly cyclists procession organised by the pro-cycling group ‘Critical Mass’ from getting too near the stadium as the opening ceremony for the Games took place.
Police had applied conditions to the procession under section 12 of the Public Order Act to prevent cyclists from going north of the Thames or anywhere near the Olympic Route Network.
But cyclists made repeated attempts to cross the river splitting into groups, with several reaching Stratford where they were detained by police.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “Our position on protest is clear, people have a right to protest, it is an incredibly important part of our democracy.”
But they added: “What people do not have the right to do is to hold a protest that stops other people from exercising their own rights to go about their business.
"That means athletes who have trained for years for their chance in a lifetime to compete, millions of ticket holders from seeing the world's greatest sporting event, and everyone else in London who wants to get around."
Further protests were taking place as the Games got underway today (July 28) with hundreds of protestors marching through Tower Hamlets in an anti-Olympic protest organised by a group called the Counter Olympics Network.
A statement on the group’s website says it is against the ‘corporate takeover of the Games’.
There are currently no reports of any arrests at the demonstration.
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