today at five — crisis in hong kong as protesters storm the assembly building there. protesters smash their way into the debating chamber of the legislative council and are now occupying it. this is the scene live inside the legislative council now. it comes on the 22nd anniversary of the former british colony being handed over to china. our reporter is there. their demands are simple, they want the complete withdrawal of the extradition law. they been protesting for many weeks and today they've broken into the legislative assembly. police warn they will use "appropriate force" to clear the chamber. we'll have the latest from hong kong shortly and analysing how china might react to the news.

the other main stories on bbc news at 5: sir cliff richard and paul gambaccini launch a campaign demanding anonymity for suspects accused of sexual offences until they're charged. despite no charges being brought against me and despite winning my privacy case, against me and despite winning my rivac case i'm against me and despite winning my privacy case, i'm sure there are still people who believe that stupid adage of no smoke without fire. both the tory leadership contenders set out spending plans but the chancellor warns them the cash may not be there. freak weather in mexico as hail on a sunny day leaves a thick layer of ice up to one a half metres thick. and on the opening day of wimbledon, top seed novak djokovic starts his defence of his title, with a straight sets win on centre court.

it's five o'clock. our main story — in hong kong, thousands of protesters have smashed their way into the legislative council building and are occupying the chamber. it followed violent clashes when riot police used tear gas, pepper spray and batons against demonstrators, who've been protesting on the 22nd anniversary of the former british colony being handed over to china. they're demanding the withdrawl of a controversial bill that this is the scene live now in hong kong. riot police are massing. it looks like they may go into remove the demonstrators from the council chamber of the legislative council. the protesters a re

chamber of the legislative council. the protesters are demanding the withdrawal of a controversial bill that would allow suspects to be extradited to the chinese mainland, it's something they've been protesting about in their hundreds of thousands for weeks now. and today those demonstrations reached a new height, really, when the demonstrators went inside the council chamber. this is the scene live now inside that chamber. you can see scenes of chaos. the protesters in their yellow helmets, lots of pushing and shoving there. these are the dramatic live shots from inside the legislative council chamber. we saw those riot police. they are they are. they are running

now and they look like they are going to confront the protesters once again. we saw them confront them earlier, as i mentioned, with pepper spray and tear gas. with batons as well. and this is all in the end, a protest about whether hong kong, the former british colony, will continue to enjoy the freedoms it has right now. these protesters are worried that, gradually, china is going to assume more and more power over hong kong and particularly at this extradition bill, which would, if it went through, allow suspects to be extradited to the chinese mainland. what protesters are worried about is that, for example, human rights campaigners, political opponents of the chinese regime who are in hong

kong could be extradited to the chinese mainland and that, in the end, hong kong would be subject to the same kind of political repression that people on the chinese mainland are. so, this is the dramatic scene, the stand—off we are seeing now in hong kong between the riot police, the hong kong police and the protesters. of course, the real fear police and the protesters. of course, the realfear is police and the protesters. of course, the real fear is all of this violence and all these dramatic scenes might trigger a response from beijing itself, that the chinese authorities in mainland china that mightjust become authorities in mainland china that might just become fed authorities in mainland china that mightjust become fed up with this sort of protest movement in this former british colony and the might launch a real crackdown, even a crackdown akin to what we saw in 1989 tiananmen square, a lot of people think that is unlikely at the moment but of course there is always

the danger if the protest continue the danger if the protest continue the chinese authorities mightjust lose patience. we can talk now to the director of amnesty international hong kong. first of all, what do you think of these scenes we're seeing now the legislative council, where the protest turned pretty violent today, with the protesters storming in and daubing graffiti in the council chamber. i have to say, first of all, today's protest is still largely peaceful. and what happened right now in the legislative council, you see the violence between the police and protesters, is unfortunate and amnesty international thinks that neither protesters nor the riot

police use of violence is justifiable. you have to understand the anger of the protesters is rooted in the response of chief executive carrie lam, who has not been responding properly to the demands of the protesters. and the demands of the protesters. and the demands in particular about this extradition bill. she suspended it but not withdrawn it completely, which is what they want. i think carrie lam refused to withdraw the bill and she refused to set up any committee to investigate the police brutality in the previous protests and she also refused to retract the announcement claiming some of the peaceful protesters are rioters and of course she refused to step down. sol rioters and of course she refused to step down. so i think over the past month, huge number of people took to

the street but still get no response from carrie lam. we are seeing riot police here, what would you see about their behaviour? they seem to be throwing tear gas, as we speak. is your fear that, ultimately, the chinese authorities might launch some sort of crackdown in hong kong? i think amnesty international believe if the police is going to retain public order that they have to use force that is proportionate and in compliance with international law. and i think regarding whether beijing will intervene or not, i think it's still within carrie lam's remit to ease the situation. she is i'iow remit to ease the situation. she is now the only person who can ease the

situation, the clash between the protesters and the police. behind the mask caught behind the shield of the mask caught behind the shield of the police and the protesters, they are all hong kong people. and if carrie lam is responsible and conscientious leader, she should now come out to start some meaningful dialogue with the protesters. what is your message to the protesters ? what is your message to the protesters? the european union are saying the protesters need to use restraint to avoid escalating this, it's very important to engage in dialogue and consultation. would you have that message as well for the protesters ? amnesty international, definitely violence neither from amnesty international, definitely violence neitherfrom post testers —— protesters or the police is justified but we have to understand the violence anger of the

protesters. if carrie lam —— we have to understand the anger of the protesters. if carrie lam starts dialogue with the protesters, that would start to ease the situation. we heard from protesters earlier saying they have no choice now, they wa nt to saying they have no choice now, they want to fight because they feel that is their only option. over the past month, many peaceful protesters have done what they can do using peaceful means to call on the government to withdraw the bill but things turn ugly, especially over the past two weeks, there are two protesters who committed suicide. so the state becomes -- sta kes suicide. so the state becomes -- stakes become very high. we are seeing these dramatic scenes. you can see lots of tear gas amid

the demonstrators. the demonstrators in those yellow helmets as the riot police seem to move forward. there you can see them trying to scatter the protesters. i suppose, ultimately, clear at them out of the legislature, the legislative council, the assembly building with the protesters forced their way in earlier today. having besieged the building for hours, they then broke through the glass while a large crowd gathered outside. hundreds went into this mini parliament lobby, they spray—painted messages on the walls, waived the crowd outside from upstairs windows. and this unrest all part of this what has until now been a pretty peaceful protest but we've seen huge demonstrations in recent weeks on the streets of hong kong, with hundreds and hundreds of thousands, absolutely jamming the roads,

jamming the motorways and flyovers in these peaceful protests against this bill that would ultimately pave the way for the extradition of suspects to mainland china. although carrie lam, the chief executive of hong kong, has said she will suspend that controversial bill, she has not yet withdrawn its and that's the nub of the issue, that's what protesters want, they see this are very much as the thin end of the wedge. if suspects start getting extradited to mainland china they think that could be the beginning of the end, really, for any kind of autonomy in this former british colony. 22 years ago it was handed overfrom former british colony. 22 years ago it was handed over from the british to the chinese. and the police had warned they could use force if the protesters smashed their way into the legislative council building. it looks like they now have run out of

patience. of course, the wider fear is it me notjust be the hong kong police who carry out actions against these protesters, that may be the chinese authorities will lose patience as well. this is the scene unfolding now in hong kong. you can see it is chaotic, dramatic, it is very tense indeed. these are the riot police fully kitted out, using tear gas, earlier on the used batons as well. and pepper spray to deal with these protesters and the hard core of the protesters and the hard core of the protesters themselves have run out of patience and have been saying they haven't got any choice left but to use violence to fight. some have

sat at the legislators' desks, they been scrawling graffiti on the walls of the parliament chamber, some of them carrying a road signs, corrugated iron sheets, pieces of scaffolding, as they entered the legislative council building. all on the anniversary of the handover of hong kong from britain to china. a lot of these are students, these protesters. wearing hard hats, wearing masks as well. so they are pretty well prepared as welcome as they take on the riot police. they use a metal trolley poles, scaffolding, as i say, to charge their way in. they broke through the reinforced glass doors of this assembly building earlier on, which eventually gave way, allowing them to make their way into this mini

parliament, and there was an order for the protesters to leave immediately, they did not do so and 110w immediately, they did not do so and now the police, it seems, are cracking down on it. the legislative council secretariat released a statement cancelling all business for tuesday. the central government offices said they would close on tuesday because of the security situation. riot police and helmets about firing pepper spray during the stand—off. it is swell covering the —— sweltering lit hot in hong kong at the moment. banners hanging over it flyovers around the legislative council saying free hong kong. these are demonstrators taking on these riot police and what the —— in what they really do believe is a fight for their freedom. they really do believe is a fight for theirfreedom. not they really do believe is a fight fortheirfreedom. notjust they really do believe is a fight for their freedom. notjust now but for their freedom. notjust now but for their freedom. notjust now but for the future of hong kong. for the coming decades, they really fear

gradually, chinese rule will be imposed and the relative autonomy that hong kong enjoys at the moment will be quashed. we are still seeing these live pictures from hong kong as we wait to see exactly what's going to happen. very tense situation the moment. you can see riot police wearing masks to protect themselves from the tear gas they've been firing at the protesters as they try and clear the protesters away from the legislative council building. they have been firing tear gas at the hundreds of protesters who have been demonstrating around this mini parliament and the riot police then moving towards the assembly building itself. all coming to a head, as was

perhaps inevitable. fair to say the police did not think they could allow the protesters are simply to run free inside the assembly building for much longer. we are joined now by a political editor at coconuts in hong kong. what do you make of the situation we are seeing 110w make of the situation we are seeing now around the legislative council? it started to get a little bit tense. over the past... it started to get a little bit tense. overthe past... i've it started to get a little bit tense. over the past... i've started to notice there are slightly more people heading towards the stations. i think we mightjust have lost that guest. we will try and get her back on the line. you can see another

running charge as the right police try and chase away some more of the demonstrators. clashes, really, you see now, the yellow helmets of the protesters and the black helmets of the riot police. objects being thrown by some of the protesters. people using umbrellas as protection, it seems. we can go back to vicky, who is close to the legislative building. you are telling us what you can see and about the tension as well as the tear gas. can you repeat that question? just describe for us what you can see and hear. we are seeing the pictures from around the legislative council building as the riot police

try to clear away the demonstrators. i'm not overpass not far away from the legislative council, i've noticed more people getting away from the legislative council. there is clearly lots of very frightening protesters getting to the exits right now. some up for us, if you can, why the protesters are so angry and why, in a sense, maybe the proteas have come toa a sense, maybe the proteas have come to a head today, on the anniversary of the handover of hong kong they are angry in huge part because of the controversial extradition bill. the —— they want assurances the belt will be fully withdrawn, not simply paused. carrie lam has said it will not be introduced, they want of the

assurances it's not going to return for another reading. in addition, they also want the authorities to retract the word riot to describe the protesters and also what the people arrested during the test, they want those people released and charges against them dropped. we are seeing huge clouds of tear massed ranks of riot police advancing towards a demonstrators. the police have been charging the protesters with batons. have the tactics of the hong kong police been proportionate? that's a really difficult question. largely, today's protests were a little bit tense for some people because it's the first time we've seen because it's the first time we've seen the protesters storm of the legislative building. the use of

police, the use of tear gas, it's ha rd to police, the use of tear gas, it's hard to see... we are having trouble hearing you. let me take over while we try and get the line back to you. take over the commentary of what's happening. the hong kong police have been bat on charging the protesters, also using tear gas to try and clear at them out of this whole area around them out of this whole area around the legislature on the anniversary of hong kong's returned to china, which was back in 1997, this being the 22nd anniversary. these are the scenes outside the assembly building, the mini parliament in hong kong. just to sum up what's happened, lots of protesters stormed into the building, smashed their way

through the glass using scaffolding, road signs, anything they could get their hands on, they smashed their way through, got into the council chamber of the legislative council, the debating chamber, occupied it, sprayed graffiti everywhere and the hong kong police, in the past few minutes, have been moving into clear them out. as you can see, they are fully kitted out riot shields, riot helmets, firing tear gas, wielding batons. this has been a real confrontation. very worrying scenes for everybody in hong kong because of course the long—term fear is that the chinese authorities in beijing will run out of patience and will not like what they are seeing here. for the moment they are trusting the hong kong police to deal with this, but the whole idea after the handover was two systems in one

country. so that the hong kong would have autonomy within china, once it had been returned to china. these protesters fear that's been eroded, particularly with the extradition bill that would allow suspects including potentially political opponents, to be extradited to mainland china. these protesters, in the past few weeks, have been turning out in vast numbers because they see they are political freedoms and rights in hong kong being gradually eroded and that's why they are making a real stand here and saying their patience has run out and that's why they stormed into the council chamber this morning. but clearly the hong kong police aren't going to put up with that. for very much longer. we've seen these scenes in the past few minutes of sun chaos and real tension and a very

dangerous moment for hong kong and anyone who lives in hong kong or ca res anyone who lives in hong kong or cares about the former british colony. the riot police in helmets and carrying batons, they've been firing pepper spray, and firing tear gas to try and deal with these increasingly agitated demonstrators. and all being played out in sweltering heat in hong kong. let's triangle back to vicky, if you can hear me, just describe what you are seeing now. i've had to move positions, to a different overpass because it's increasingly full cot people have headed towards the stations and i've seen headed towards the stations and i've seen people take off their shirts, probably from getting tear gas pepper sprayed. i think people are starting to head home now. where does this go now? because

clearly the protesters are not going to give up, even if they've been having tear gas fired at them and charged with batons, they have been warned to get out of the legislative council but are they going to keep going with these protests, do you think? it's hard to say because lots have been made of the fact these protests have been leaderless so it's really up have been leaderless so it's really up to the protesters at this point, who have mainly been organising online. i would who have mainly been organising online. iwould not who have mainly been organising online. i would not be surprised if they attempt to escalate although i highly doubt it will result in another attempt to occupy the legislative council. it's not clear at the moment what the fallout will be from this, it's not clear how many people are still in support of the protesters who have so far largely been peaceful but to be seen

out storming the legislative council. this hasn't happened before. lots of these protesters are students, young people and they are obviously angry and fearful about the future of hong kong and particularly angry and fearful about the extradition bill. yeah what most of the protesters are stu d e nts yeah what most of the protesters are students in their 20s, they would have been in their early teens around the time of the protests over demanding the right to elect the city's leader. that went on for a 79 days, that protest, and there'd be bands —— and the protesters' demands we re bands —— and the protesters' demands were not met so there has been debate since then over whether peaceful protests are going to get the results they want. so far, they've managed to get the chief executive to pause the bill but they

still want her to completely withdraw it. lots of them calling for chief executive carrie lam to stand down. they've been holding signs saying, for example, hong kong is not for hire. but there are few as gradually it will become part of the political system. —— but there are fears are. lots of people fear hong kong will be absorbed into china and become another chinese city. we don'tjust see this with the extradition bill, for many protesters it's also about very controversial national anthem or the fact the few democratically elected lawmakers were taken out of their seats for not taking the oath properly and it's also about the high—speed rail line. the extradition bill is one part of why people are so angry right now. they were pretty bold when they stormed into that legislative

council chamber, they were carrying scaffolding, pieces of scaffolding, they smashed through the glass, sat down at the legislators' desks, started scrawling graffiti on the walls. pretty bold. it's pretty bold. we had not seen anything like this before. even lots of journalists who have anything like this before. even lots ofjournalists who have been here longer and i have, they were pretty stunned at how bold they were and we are not quite sure what's going to happen after tonight. it's already at 1230 in the morning so we are waiting to see. some of the protesters look pretty well kitted out as well, if you don't mind me saying so, in that they have helmets, they know how to protect themselves. the protesters have been very organised. as i mentioned, lots of

these people were early teens around these people were early teens around the time of the umbrella movement so the time of the umbrella movement so the new what to prepare for with a string of protests and i've been getting updates through messaging apps saying we need helmets, goggles, to the front it's been very organised, really. the tear gas has obviously been quite devastating, some of the people are putting cling film around the skin to protect themselves. i got offered cling film, i'm not quite sure what it was supposed to do it but it was very uncomfortable. and didn't really work. where do you see all of this going now? well these protesters continue? it's hard to say. i think it's likely to continue, given the protests have been without a leader s0 protests have been without a leader so farand protests have been without a leader so far and there isn't really any

sign they are going to stop. i see a lot of people heading towards the exits but i've no idea if any will attempt to stay behind overnight. let's recap what viewers are seeing now after the hong kong riot police moved in on the demonstrators who had occupied the chamber, the council chamber of the legislative council in hong kong. this was on the anniversary of the handover of hong kong from britain to china and in protest at this proposed extradition law. the law would allow the extradition of suspects to china. let's go to nick, our correspondent in hip hong kong. they remain protesters nearby and it

is unclear how may people remain in the chamber. clearly, the police are lining up. you can see, this is their training coming into operation now. they are making columns, this is normally from experiences of other rights i've been at, aprilia to action. you don't have the elite squad here, or brat dressed in black, but you have officers who would normally be walking the streets of hong kong, dealing with crime, today it looks like they are about to go in this way. let's see if we can get some sense of where the operation will take us. i wonder at this point whether they will be bringing out the protesters through this exit. they are clearly trying to keep some sort of entrance open. this is extremely fast moving, the police are being moved to one side. i think we are going to stick with us i think we are going to stick with us and see what happens. i think a lot of people were amazed that this had not happened earlier today, the fa ct had not happened earlier today, the fact that the demonstrators were

able to get in and occupy this place. as we see the start of this operation, and of course only an hour ago the police had tweeted that they were preparing to move the protesters if they didn't leave of their own accord, and tweeted they would use appropriate force. that was the phrase they used. and quite clearly that is what is happening. we spoke to one lawmaker who thought it was a little bit of a trap, because the protesters were allowed into that building and now of course it looks as if there is an operation to move in and arrest, and of course that of course is potentially a way of them just making a move to have a clamp—down against these protesters. yes, and we've heard accusations today that there have been some probation elements in the crowd sorting things out, trying to increase the tension the streets. i

don't know if the authorities would say the protesters were allowed in. in order to get in they had to smash through barricades, smashed through glass, and so they have done that and one thing we heard today is if you were to break into a building like this generally you expect to face a ten yearjail sentence. now, whether the teenagers and people in their 20s who have taken this action today really knew that, that is unclear. but the implications for them could be grave because we know after previous protests the authorities have taken really strict action against people for far, far less dramatic acts. in terms of the response from the police in the coming minutes and hours, that is unpredictable, we do not know. and in terms of the response from the authorities, how people are prosecuted, that is something we will watch with great care and attention. is it clear to you in

terms of what the protesters actually want? it started very much asa actually want? it started very much as a protest against this plan to allow extradition to mainland china, it has morphed into many things now. it has, and if we walk this way while i answer that, this will give you some indication of the size of the police presence now. talking to people today they said they were very angry about this extradition bell, this plan which would have sent suspects from hong kong to mainland china. but also there was a really deep anti—beijing sentiment, people do not like the idea that it would be china shaping their future, particularly in 2047, that is the moment where the self—rule principle that hong kong will come to an end. we spoke some people today saying they were talking about democracy, they were talking about democracy, they were talking about democracy, they were talking about a revolution, and you really get the sense here that these are people who are sense here that these are people who a re keyed sense here that these are people who are keyed up, a lot of them are students, we were talking to some political students today, and they

really wa nt political students today, and they really want to be the master of their own destiny and they don't like the way hong kong is progressing. so they have chosen this moment, a symbolic day, the 1st ofjuly, 22 years after the handover from british rule to chinese rule, to carry out this action. if you listen for a second... it is airy, this contrast with the great new noise and fury of today, you can hear a noise and fury of today, you can heara pin drop. the noise and fury of today, you can hear a pin drop. the artificers here are waiting for the next instruction. —— officers. he may be able to faintly make up an alarm ringing. this is the calm before the storm. the officers know they will be asked to do a job. we do not know what the protesters upstairs i thinking. but it seems the two factions at some point extremely soon will meet in some way. on the streets outside, they have been meeting literally in the last ten or 15 minutes with the police moving against protesters on the streets, there have been warnings earlier in

there have been warnings earlier in the day for people to clear the streets as well. so that part of the operation is also going on simultaneously. you were talking about the protesters urging carrie lam to stand down. wanting that plan for extradition to be shelved permanently. is there any sort of sign ofany permanently. is there any sort of sign of any bending from the authorities on those two principal demands? it is really hard to tell at this point. today carrie lam took pride of place at the ceremony at eight o'clock this morning. it seems a long time ago when she was enthusiastically singing the chinese national anthem. so far she has refused to stand down and we were told she has the backing of beijing. in terms of this bill, i think it has become a lightning rod for lots of other anger. the authorities here are insisting it will not be brought back anytime soon, crucially it will not be brought back in the next 11 months which is the timeframe in which they do it. but people here do

not believe it. really interesting thing, talking to people today one of their demands was that people arrested during previous protests over the past four weeks, that they be free from police custody and also freed from any future prosecution. of course, that has changed the whole dynamic today. you have potentially hundreds of people, the authorities may want to pursue, so if this was going to solve anything today, if the protesters were hoping their demands would be met, the whole system has been thrown into chaos. this has been a day of chaos and anger, and they talk about hong kong being a place of a different way of life to the rest of china, that self—rule here will be very different, but this does feel an extremely difficult place this evening. iam extremely difficult place this evening. i am looking and hearing more police officers moving round, potentially they are going to another part of the building. as i

said, there are quite a few entrances. but now there is this unease, the stand—off. the police, more and more of them coming, but am unclear more and more of them coming, but am u nclear exactly more and more of them coming, but am unclear exactly what they will do and when. and as you are talking to me we have split the screen and are showing pictures from the operation outside the building as well as seeing you. and there are huge numbers of riot police outside in the operations they are conducting there, many of them wearing gas masks as we have seen volleys of tear being used. in terms of the tactics, so criticised onjune 12, tactics, so criticised onjune12, what have you seen in terms of police tactics today? the tactics today have been a real contrast from that particular day, june 12, when the officers here were accused of brutality and many people were unhappy with the way they reacted to aof unhappy with the way they reacted to a of protesters. and i would say,

looking as i have today, that they have gone completely the other way, there was not a riot officer in sight, we saw some police officers through the smashed glass trying to protect some of the buildings, no offices on the streets for the past 12 hours or so. at the start of the day there were a few flashes but really they were dwarfed by what came next. so you would imagine these officers have been on alert, on standby, nearby, but it is only at this point that the command is being passed down to them to assemble at this point and carry out this sort of operation that clearly has been planned. but i think a lot of people will find it extraordinary that there were not more police. an the crowd today were not kettles, they were not contained, they were not channelled through different parts of the city. they were able to run amok, frankly. it felt like the protesters owned the streets. teenagers, people in their early 20s, able to tear up bricks from the

pavement, able to move metal barriers to the front of the crowd to pass projectiles to those at the front who were willing to take on the authorities and try to smash through the windows, smash through this symbolic site. so this has been hours in the making, then a few hours in the making, then a few hours ago the moment came when they stormed the chamber and then those extraordinary scenes of black paint being sprayed on the chamber, the portraits of the people who have beenin portraits of the people who have been in power here in hong kong being defaced. those people who hong kong citizens know so well, who have ruled over the past few decades, those faces, those portraits being painted over. and it is clear they we re painted over. and it is clear they were once in power, the people on the streets have felt that they were the streets have felt that they were the ones in power today. they were the ones in power today. they were the ones in the ascendancy, they felt about gordon, embattled, and they pushed forward. now, what is they pushed forward. now, what is the consequence of those actions, what fate awaits them? it is hard to

tell, but it is not going to be a positive one, that is for sure. and of course the prospects i mentioned, ten yea rs of course the prospects i mentioned, ten years is the jail sentence generally meted out to someone who would break into a government building in this way. whether they are harsher on the people here to send a message to those who may want to protest in the coming weeks and months, that is something we do not know. but when we talk about what happens next, does it end here? when these protesters a re happens next, does it end here? when these protesters are brought out or when they walk out all do they regroup, do they come back again, do they try to launch an occupation movement which they did five years ago with little impact? so many unknowns here in hong kong tonight. it has been a tense day. i think people, frankly, talking to a few, can't believe what they have seen. in terms of the protest, this time around, so many young people

involved. how different is that in terms of previous protests in past yea rs, terms of previous protests in past years, and has significant?” terms of previous protests in past years, and has significant? i think it is significant. there is a younger demographic and i think the way they have been acting has been really fascinating. people i'm sure will be, there will be those who heavily condemn what has been done today, but the way the whole movement came about is extraordinary, because you have not had leaders with loudspeakers standing at the front, barking orders, geeing up the crowd. in the menu have had people pointing out where medical supplies are, water is, where people who have inhaled gas or pepper spray can treat themselves. there has been an extraordinary spectre here, people sit down or stand in one place and then look at their phones, they get a message, that is the directive, thatis a message, that is the directive, that is where they move next, and so they move en masse, they move immediately to another place, and i think for the authorities here that

has been extremely difficult for them to try to deal with. so of course i think it was quite a strategic move, not having leaders, it makes it harder, the protesters hope, the key individuals to be prosecuted in the future. we will have to see whether or not that hope comes to fruition. nick, stay with us. comes to fruition. nick, stay with us. i'm just going to break away from you for a couple of minutes. thank you for taking us through that. as we continue to look at these life pictures, let's get a couple more voices to comment on what we are seeing. icarus one is a member of the civil rights observer and joins us now. thank you for joining us. what is your thoughts as you watch the scenes on the streets and inside the chamber there in hong kong? apologies, we seem to have

lost that line to icarus. how it is here in the studio watching the pictures. in terms of what we are seeing, take us through because you have been in conversations with your collea g u es have been in conversations with your colleagues on the ground. what are they saying to you? so far today's protests, the peaceful bet, was widely expected. it has been a social media, on peoples minds, it isjuly one 22nd year of handing back to chinese control from britain, people were planning by the thousands to come out and protest what they see as a gradual erosion of hong kong plus my old freedoms and rights, so people were trying to vent their anger. but the turn of events towards the later part of the day, other small people of —— group of people charging into the building with barricades and metal poles and

even bricks being thrown, that was unexpected. so now of course, given the riot police are already surrounding the building, it is inevitable in the next few minutes, it could be, or slightly longer, inevitable in the next few minutes, it could be, orslightly longer, but some time before the morning this time will be cleared, —— make this place will be cleared. what is your assessment of how beijing will be viewing these scenes? baiting from the very beginning was labelling the protest as a foreign interest driven colour revolution. albeit, i guess, inside here high circle of the government people must have different opinions on how to deal with this type of protest. and in the past you always had hardliners who would encourage some type of swift and resolute push to crack

down, to make sure this finishes, to show the authorities were in control. and you always have another faction who will argue maybe we should take a slightly more diplomatic approach to maintain... so those two arguments will always go on. but at the end, tonight's turn of events, especially about charging the building, may give the hardliners more of an argument, stronger argument. and how much will people in china be seeing any of this? any of it? it depends on whom. if you are talking about the influences, the opinion formers, most of them will be a love this. influences, the opinion formers, most of them will be a love thislj mean most of them will be a love this.” mean the chinese public. with the last set of demonstrations, in the end there was some reporting of it by the chinese media. not in the beginning but by the end. they will not have any live coverage, i highly doubt. it is in the early hours of

the morning already. i highly doubt they will live because these type of events. but they will always have some type of perspective piece on the second day. either denouncing what they call the rioters or the foreign plotters, there were always a lwa ys foreign plotters, there were always always be some type of perspective coverage from that side. in terms of carolann's position. coverage from that side. in terms of ca rolann's position. so coverage from that side. in terms of carolann's position. so much pressure on her to either shelve the bill permanently or to stand down. is there any chance of movement on either of those things? from past experience, i can't see how immediately any of this will happen, because that would be a major lose of face for beijing. so we see more police pushing, inching forward towards the building. sealing off more of the outside road, clearing

the outside of the building, this is the outside of the building, this is the feed we are getting. but in terms of what the endgame would be, if we look back towards the two previous governments ago in hong kong, we had fighting and losing the article 23 fight, it was also about the police criminal bill reform bill, at that time he lost, he suspended the bell and later on, after a few months, he claimed he had health trouble and then resigned on health grounds. so that is one of the face—saving ways out. but whether that will happen this time nobody knows. returning to the pictures, bit by bit we see the police moving forward and dispersing those protesters. a little while ago, only 15 or 20

those protesters. a little while ago, only 15 or20 minutes those protesters. a little while ago, only 15 or 20 minutes ago, there were thousands of protesters very much within the camera pulls back view. but you can see the protest police steadily moving forward and pushing back the people who have been on the streets throughout the day. and to the right if you look, vehicle moving forward. that is going on in several locations in that central area of hong kong. that is despite and alongside everything we were seeing from inside the legislative council where our correspondent nick was with us a short time ago. several operations going on in parallel with authorities moving against the protesters on the street and those who have taken over the council building itself. and when nick took us building itself. and when nick took us around those ground—floor areas, you could see the damage, you can see the graffiti the walls, and an

hour and 45 minutes ago we were seeing the pictures from inside the chamber itself, and there were hundreds of protesters there, very calmly sitting in and then word spread from the police, an ultimatum initially, saying unless you move we will move. and that is actually what you are seeing will move. and that is actually what you are seeing on will move. and that is actually what you are seeing on your will move. and that is actually what you are seeing on your screen will move. and that is actually what you are seeing on your screen at the moment. and that is what nick was describing in the basement, on the ground floor of that building. you saw hundreds of police there as that operation was in its early stages, moving those protesters and i assume arresting those protesters inside the legislative council. we have someone the legislative council. we have someone from the chinese service. i suppose part of the problem for the authorities over the past few weeks is at different stages we have seen huge numbers take to the streets, 1

million, 2 million, and then it disappears almost by the next day. we wait a bit, and then the large protests like we have seen again today. and that is difficult for the authorities to know how to respond to. and when you have those type of numbers, that indicates the level of support from all age groups, from all social and economic backgrounds, especially the second one where over 2 million people showed up. that is nearly a third of the hong kong population showing up on the streets. so when you are faced with that, even within the probation camp, within the legislature, there we re camp, within the legislature, there were calls for people to say stop this for now, let's listen, there we re this for now, let's listen, there were moderating voices coming through. but as i said, losing that type of patience by charging the legislature tonight, we could see public opinion tomorrow, let's see how they will respond. there will a lwa ys how they will respond. there will always be people saying it doesn't matter what we are protesting, we

are frustrated, and you never talk to us, and we are right. but there will be other voices slowly coming in... that takes me naturally to the fa ct in... that takes me naturally to the fact that both yesterday and today there were actually some pro—beijing supporters and protesters as well. how big were those over the last 24 hours or so and the significance of that compared to what seeing here? one of them i think had over 160,000 protesters. many of them but i don't of course you have arguments from one side saying they could be organised by probation factions within hong kong trying to show support. the chinese media, state media came out and said look at the western media, you spend all your time reporting on the protesters anti—government protesters, but when you actually have supporters of the government coming out then very few agencies spend as much time covering it. so you do give that type of media war of words going on. so the

significance is to show the government is also trying to pull peran government is also trying to pull per an image that hong kong is all for and government protest. which is possibly truth to a certain degree. but overall hong kong society, especially the younger generation, i disillusioned, that is also a fact on the ground. howard, stay with me as we continue to watch these pictures. there are semi—different feeds coming in to the bbc, and it gives you a real sense of the police operation currently under way both inside that legislative building, outside in the surrounding streets, as the thousands of people that had remained there, part of the big protest we had seen at the start of the day, this is of course the 22nd anniversary of the handover of hong kong from the uk to chinese authorities. that is how the day started and then we had those massive protests, and bit by bit

those protesters tried to disrupt the anniversary celebrations and ultimately centred there focus on those legislature building, bash their way in using metal barriers, metal poles, they got inside and then occupied the main chamber. now you are seeing these variety of police operations to clear protesters both from the streets and from the council building. patrick is from amnesty international hong kong, andi is from amnesty international hong kong, and i think he can talk to us on the phone. i hope you can hear me 0k. tell on the phone. i hope you can hear me ok. tell me your thoughts in terms of what you are saying. like many others, ijoined the mass protest this afternoon in hong kong. and what happened afterwards was something very unfortunate, because

the hong kong government's lack of response led to people resorting to extreme measures, and that makes people very angry and several times people very angry and several times people were quite worried whether people were quite worried whether people would stay and that would make the police treated like a riot and remove them. now luckily we see the dispersal was ok but of course the dispersal was ok but of course the police used tear gas. the situation that we see now, in the past it has been so many demands, concrete demands, made by the hong kong public, by a number of people joining different occasions of protest, but the government's response has been very evasive, still making only very vague comments, and also other demands, we

are especially concerned about the police plus make excessive use of force on june 12 in police plus make excessive use of force onjune 12 in dispersing people. and we see also a lot of violence happening during the dispersal. and there is no independent investigation been announced so far, so that is something we are very concerned about. he raised several issues there. let me take them one at a time. in terms of police tactics, he referred to jun 12 in time. in terms of police tactics, he referred tojun 12 in the tactics that were so criticised back then, in terms of what you saw today and the tactics, what you make of it? today, of course, the situation is quite different, it is inside the legislative council, and supporters outside, the police tried to disperse them as soon as possible.

but on the 12th, i was also observing, and i was surprised to see the police without making any concrete warning, they immediately used tear gas. and actually nobody was ready to see that. and also the use of pepper spray in very enclosed areas like the station, and also a number of videos we have verified with our experts that find actually the use of force was quite rampant on the 12th. today i think they were observing how they could do it quickly, so i would say because also the protesters did themselves disperse very peacefully. so the level of force is quite different. on the other issue you raised, they

will you said they were a variety of issues raised by the protesters, can you see these protests that we have seen now you see these protests that we have seen now for you see these protests that we have seen now for many you see these protests that we have seen now for many weeks, ending u nless seen now for many weeks, ending unless the authorities concede the central demands? i see the government and also carrie lam has been conceding more and more, but i think it also depends on how much more pressure will be put on the government and carry lamb herself. originally, her position was very strong, but she already kind of tried to apologise, but nobody feels the apology is genuine. we also see the apology is genuine. we also see the wedding from the governmentreleases tends to be conceding a bit more and more. so i think all these different levels of actions in the past few weeks have

been quite a lot of pressure on the government. course we have the complication of the g20 just happening a few days ago, also with theissue happening a few days ago, also with the issue kind of complicated by the 620. so the issue kind of complicated by the g20. so now, with today cosmic situation, we still need to see what will happen tomorrow. definitely tomorrow there will be more discussion of what happened in the building tonight, i think there will bea building tonight, i think there will be a lot of divided comment on the action. but after what we see, there will be more discussion that will be me to put pressure on the hong kong government. patrick, thank you very much. thank you for giving us your thoughts as we continue to watch these pictures of the authorities

moving in to the legislative council building, as that operation continues on the streets outside and in the council itself. you are watching bbc news. these are live pictures from hong kong as the authorities move against the protesters after a day of protests. we've seen in the last couple of hours and also set by the police that unless the protesters move, they will move against them and that's what we have seen in the last while, both on the streets outside the legislative building and inside the legislative building and inside the main chamber. we saw only two hours ago hundreds of protesters inside the main chamber having burst through and broken in. i want to show you the pictures from a couple

of hours