Campaigners against tax avoidance shut down stores in London’s West End on Saturday, in a nationwide protest on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

UK Uncut, which began as a group of friends in a north London pub in September, has tapped a fast-growing vein of anti-corporate sentiment. It said 55 protests took place around the UK.
The group, which organizes using social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, is protesting against the government’s public sector cuts and what it says are widespread tax avoidance schemes by corporations and the wealthy that cost the exchequer up to £25b per year.
Police said 150 protesters targeted Top Shop, the Oxford Street flagship of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia fashion empire.
UK Uncut has criticized Sir Philip because his family was able to take a £1.2b tax-free dividend from the Arcadia group in 2005, as the company is owned by his wife, Lady Tina, who is a resident in Monaco rather than the UK.
Demonstrators blew whistles, handed out leaflets, and sat in groups on the floor of the store, in a ‘sports day’ event intended to highlight what they say are £160m cuts to school sports programs.
One group held up a banner that read “Philip Green, Top Shop owner, cuts adviser, tax dodger.” The crowd chanted slogans such as: “Pay your tax” and: “No ifs, no buts, no public sector cuts.”
Several protesters were removed by security. Customers carried on shopping until police blocked the entrance.
BHS on Oxford Street was also the scene of a sit-in by about 30 activists, who gathered inside the main entrance. The crowd shouted “Nick Clegg shame on you for turning blue.” Police and security staff eventually sealed the doors.
UK Uncut says Vodafone avoided paying £6b in tax through a dispute settlement with Revenue & Customs, enough to pay for the services being cut. Vodafone says reports suggesting it had an outstanding tax bill of £6b are “incorrect”. Vodafone closed the store before the protest began.
On Saturday the group announced it was also targeting HSBC, with a ‘sleep in’ protest by a group of about 20 activists occupying the bank’s Covent Garden outlet in the morning.
Chris Tobin from UK Uncut said targets around the UK also included Boots and Marks and Spencer stores. “I’m sure the weather put some people off but the response has been amazing,” he said.
The Metropolitan Police said four arrests had been made in the Oxford Street area for aggravated trespass, assault and criminal damage.
(Source: The Financial Times