Police are bracing themselves for a "summer of rage" against the economic crisis, a senior officer has warned.
Supt David Hartshorn, who heads the Metropolitan Police's public order branch, said he feared there could be "mass protest" at rising unemployment, failing financial institutions and the downturn in the economy.
The officer told The Guardian that "known activists" were planning returns to the streets, and intelligence revealed that they may be able to call on more protesters than normal due to the unprecedented conditions.
He said: "Those people would be good at motivating people, but they haven't had the 'foot soldiers' to actually carry out (protests).
"Obviously the downturn in the economy, unemployment, repossessions, changes that. Suddenly there is the opportunity for people to mass protest."
Mr Hartshorn, who is regularly briefed on potential causes of civil unrest, singled out April's G20 summit of the leading developed nations being held in London, as one of the events that could kick start a series of protests.
"We've got G20 coming and I think that is being advertised on some of the sites as the highlight of what they see as a 'summer of rage'," he said.
The officer added that banks, particularly those that still pay large bonuses despite receiving billions of aid from the taxpayer, had also become "viable targets" for protesters.
Other parts of Europe have already seen large-scale protests against the handling of the economy.
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