At around 11am this morning a group of around 20 protesters under the banner of Citizens United entered and occupied the lobby of the Royal Bank of Scotland's Direct Line Insurance offices in Cadogan Street in Glasgow's Broomielaw.

The activists, students, retired, workers, claimants ranging in age from 18 to 80 entered the building to protest the obscene bonuses being awarded at a time when the poorest are being made to bear the brunt of the banking sector's financial catastrophe.

Speaking from a loud hailer on the upper floor landing, they demanded the publicly-owned business issue an apology to the tax payers for awarding its staff around £1bn in bonuses. Their CEO Stephen Hester himself will be receiving £2.5m while unemployment and the cost of living increases and jobs and services are axed.

After it became clear the demands that a senior member of staff come out to defend the bonuses were obviously never going to be met, bundles of monopoly money were thrown down into the lobby and workers coming in and out of the building were leafleted.

Various members of the ad hoc group gave interviews to the TV and print media and after 2 hours of proving that even the bankers know that the indefensible could not be defended, they left the building on their own accord. A spokesperson for the group promised there will be more protests to come.

Police and staff response to the action was visibly hands off. There were no arrests.

http://citizensunitedagainstcuts.wordpress.com/