BT | >Re-PHOTO

Disarm DSEI – City of London: on Tuesday 8th September 2009, the day that year’s DSEI Arms Fair opened at the Excel centre in East London, campaigners came to protest outside the city offices of companies heavily involved in the arms trade.

There were also protests outside the Excel Centre, but the protest in the City would be seen by many more people and was more likely to receive coverage in the media. Later in the day protesters from CAAT (Campaign Against the Arms Trade) also came into central London for a protest outside the government offices of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in Westminster. Their Defence and Security Organisation provides financial, political and logistical support for the arms fair, channelling our taxes to help private companies to profit from making the arms used to kill people.

The protest in the City of London was by Disarm DSEI, who had provided an excellently produced and well-researched ‘infopack’, 4 A4 pages with a map listing over 25 companies – including arms traders, law firms, institutional investors and banks with heavy involvement in the arms trade and which I quoted from extensively in my post on My London Diary. But Disarm DSEI stressed that the protest had no organisers but that those present would together decide on what it would do.

There were also people who had come prepared to speak at the stops the protest made about the activities of the companies, and after meeting outside the RBS in Aldgate (“the world’s leading creditor to the arms industry … over £44.6 billion in the last ten years including loans to producers of cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions” we went on to Barclays “the largest investor in the global arms trade with £7.3 billion in shares.”

From there the protest moved on to Schroders and Lloyds TSB, the “principal banker to BAE Systems and QinetiQ” and who have made loans “to produces of of cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions.”

When we reached the BT offices, some protesters made a rush for the door and managed to push their way into the atrium, with others following them for a short protest inside – with staff and visitors to the building gathering on the balconies to watch.

Apart from a little possible damage to the door and from jumping over the security gates I saw little if any deliberate vandalism and no attempt to attack any of the people inside. “BT hold £59 million worth of shares in the international arms trade.” And after making their point, the protesters simply walked out.

Things got a little rougher at AXA Investments (“£2,259 million worth of shares in the UK arms trade and &6,207 million investment in the international arms industry”) where some smashed the glass with a reinforced banner, but the protest then moved away to the Stock Exchange (“where all the dirty dealing gets done“) – where after a short protest the banners were put away and the protest ended.

Police had not tried to stop the march and seemed to just stand back and watch, though there was a FIT team taking photographs. The ‘infopack’ had advised protesters to ‘mask up’ and many did as you can see in my photographs.

From there I took the tube to Westminster, where CAAT had brought a white elephant with doves on it along with a petition calling for an end to the support of the arms trade by the UKTI Defence and Security Organisation. Another banner had the message “Civil Servant … Or Arms Dealer” and accused the government of handing out arms export licences to repressive regimes – some of whom also sell arms as well as buy them at DSEI.

This year, 2025, the government made a highly publicised statement about not inviting the Israeli government delegation to the DSEI arms fair – but failed to mention that Israeli arms manufacturers will still be selling their weapons there, selling them as being “battle-tested” after their use in the long series of attacks on Gaza, killing Palestinians in the ongoing genocide.

Among those at protest outside the UKTI was peace activist Dan Viesnik on his 100 hour Famine for Victims of the Arms Trade at various government offices and other locations around the city.

More about these protests and many more pictures on My London Diary at Disarm DSEi and CAAT: Close UKTI DSO.

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SS Robin, South Dock, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-44-positive_2400 — *SS Robin, South Dock, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-44*

SS Robin is a 350 gross ton steam coaster built by Mackenzie, MacAlpine & Co at their Orchard House Yard in Bow Creek in 1890 and the only complete Victorian steam ship in existence. She still has the original steam engine fitted in Dundee by Gourlay Brothers & Co.

In 1900 she was renamed Maria and spent the next 74 years working around Spain for several Spanish owners, and in 1966 some extensive alterations were made. When about to be scrapped in 1974 she was bought by the Maritime Trust, her original name restored and treated to an extensive restoration in Rochester before coming to St Katharine’s Docks in London and opened to the public as a part of their Historic Ships Collection. After this closed in 1986, along with several other vessels from the collection Robin was laid up here in the West India Docks. You can see the stern of the Yarmouth Steam Drifter Lydia Eva at the right.

In 2000 Robin was sold for £1 and later the SS Robin Trust was set up to restore the vessel, an expensive and lengthy process and eventually it was decided necessary to put the vessel on a pontoon. The SS Robin museum, theatre and educational centre is now in the Royal Victoria Dock.

DLR, BT, Quay House, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 198888-6b-45-positive_2400 — *DLR, BT, Quay House, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-45*

Quay House, a three storey office block built in 1986-7 was occupied by BT. Empty for some years, planning permission was obtained in 2020 for the 40-storey Quay House waterfront development including a 400-bedroom hotel and 279 serviced apartments alongside dockside leisure facilities.

South Dock, Heron Quays, Marsh Wall, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-46-positive_2400 — *South Dock, Heron Quays, Marsh Wall, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-46*

The Survey of London describes these low rise buildings as “high-tech ‘cabins’ or ‘Swiss chalets’, with light steel structures, covered with red, purple and blue-grey vitreous enamel panels, while the monopitch roofs are clad in aluminium” and says they were part of a large scheme for the area begun in 1981 and built in 1984-9.

I think this is now the site of 1 Bank Street, a 28 floor office block completed in 2019.

BT, South Dock, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-31-positive_2400 — *BT, South Dock, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-31*

The front of the BT Business Centre on South Dock.

DLR, South Dock, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-32-positive_2400 — *DLR, South Dock, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-32*

Taken from more or less the same place as the previous picture and that below, this is where the DLR crosses the South Dock of the West India Docks, looking towards Heron Quays station. It shows how little development there was here in 1988.

DLR, BT, South Dock, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-33-positive_2400 — *DLR, BT, South Dock, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-33*

Looking back at the curve of the DLR around Quay house towards Marsh Wall.

London River Man, John W Mills, sculpture, Ensign House, Marsh Wall, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-35-positive_2400 — *London River Man, John W Mills, sculpture, Ensign House, Marsh Wall, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-35*

“London River Man‘ John W Mills ARCA FRBS 1987. This sculpture salutes all London river workers – toshers – bargees – dockers – ale tasters – coalheavers – ferrymen” and is rather hidden now on Marsh Wall. It is rather less than lifesize. John Mills (b1933) is better known for his Whitehall memorial to the women of World War II.

Admirals Way, South Dock, South Quay, Tower Hamlets 88-6b-36-positive_2400 — *Admirals Way, South Dock, South Quay, Tower Hamlets 88-6b-36*

This is Waterside, where these buildings, described as small-business apartments were built in 1985-6. They are still there, looking much the same, though probably for not much longer.

BT, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-21-positive_2400 — *BT, Admirals Way, South Quay, Tower Hamlets, 1988 88-6b-21*

A final picture of the British Telecom Business Centre – and what was presumably its main entrance.

More from around the West India Docks in a later post. Click on any of the pictures to see larger versions of any of them in the album 1988 London Photos from where you can browse other images.

Tag: BT

Disarm DSEI – City of London 2009

West India Docks 1988 (2)