G20 protesters, police clash at bank

LONDON, April 1 (UPI) -- Group of 20 summit protesters flooded into London's financial district Wednesday, engaging in a standoff with police at the Bank of England, witnesses said.

Eleven arrests were reported outside Britain's central bank, targeted by protesters to illustrate anger over the role bankers played in the global economic crisis, The Times of London reported.

Witnesses said phalanxes of baton-wielding police standing on the front steps of the central bank were pelted with fruit and police helmets were grabbed and thrown in the air. As groups of protesters moved forward, officers retreated to higher areas at the bank building, the newspaper said.

Office workers in upper-story windows along Old Broad Street taunted demonstrators marching through the London district by waving cash at them, a gesture reportedly met with jeers and angry shouts from the street.

The protesters gathered at London Bridge station for what they called a march against financial crimes. The Times said the protesters were a diverse group whose issues ranged from anti-bank sentiments to environmental causes to undisguised anarchy.