Almost a hundred protesters gathered outside the central bank headquarters, which was holding its monetary policy meeting at the time, for the event organised by left-wing group "Venezuela Solidarity Campaign". "Bank of England, you've been told, give Venezuela back its gold!" they chanted, as one protester wearing a mask of US President Donald Trump stroked two fake gold bars under a large Venezuelan flag. "Maduro's government is legitimate, it was elected, it's been recognised by most countries of the world," charity worker Robert Miller, 50, told AFP.
"Why doesn't the Bank of England take the money from Saudi Arabia or somewhere else," he added, in reference to the human rights justification for not releasing the gold.
"You can't have the Bank of England declaring what is oppression."
"The gold belongs to the Venezuelan people," said fellow protestor Dominic Hale, a 32-year-old social worker, while his friend Danielle Veal, 30, denounced the pressure exerted by the US, saying it was "about the oil, they are not hiding it."