A Shoreditch cereal cafe, seen by some as a symbol of rising inequality in east London, came under attack over the weekend when protesters daubed the word "scum" on the shop window and allegedly set fire to an effigy of a police officer.
Riot police were called in to defend the premises as anti-gentrification activists – some wearing pig masks and others carrying flaming torches – attacked the shop, which has generated controversy since its opening last December. The Cereal Killer Cafe, which sells a range of more than 120 breakfast cereals from around the world, drew criticism after a Channel 4 News interviewer asked whether local people could afford £3.20 for a bowl of cereal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One person has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, Scotland Yard said.
Police said that from around 8pm on Saturday, a "criminal element" within a group of several hundred threw missiles and caused criminal damage to shops and other businesses in and around Brick Lane. The group continued to move around the Shoreditch and Brick Lane area until around 12.30am on Sunday morning.
The owners of the cafe said that the attack had left customers, including children, "terrified for their lives". Alan Keery, who co-owns the cafe with his brother Gary, said it was "absurd" that activists were targeting their cafe, which they said was just a small business. "It's bullying at its best," he said.
One protester who was at the demonstration said the premises were targeted as a "symbol of gentrification". He added that a nearby estate agent, Marsh & Parsons, had also been attacked.
The owners posted photographs on Twitter – one showing the word "scum" written on their window and another captured from above showing a crowd. "We started a business to deliver an experience to cereal lovers, and have been thanked by local businesses for bringing tourists to the area. The mob won't win, wearing masks with pitchforks and torches – it's 2015," the pair said.
-
Trump-Putin: would land swap deal end Ukraine war?Today's Big Question Ukraine ready to make 'painful but acceptable' territorial concessions – but it still might not be enough for Vladimir Putin
-
The truth about sunscreenThe Explainer The science behind influencer claims that sun cream is toxic
-
Blue whales have gone silent and it's posing troubling questionsUnder the radar Warming oceans are the answer
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listingsSpeed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequelSpeed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binarySpeed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday televisionSpeed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticalsSpeed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunionSpeed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipesSpeed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
