Two protesters penetrated massive security around President Jiang Zemin yesterday, marring a huge police operation intended to keep human rights activists far from view during his visit.
A middle-aged demonstrator shouted 'Free Tibet' as he sprinted towards a limousine carrying Mr Jiang towards the Millennium Dome.
Dave Wetton, who appeared to have dodged heavy security by donning a worker's helmet and jacket to pass as a construction worker at the almost-completed dome site, was seized by police a metre from the vehicle and dragged away.
Later, a Tibetan student at London University who gave his name as Jamphon, managed to break through police lines on a bicycle and unfurled a Tibetan flag in front of Mr Jiang's motorcade.
He pulled the flag from under his jacket and shouted 'Free Tibet' before being forced off the road by a police motorcyclist, pinned to the ground by three officers and arrested.
Mr Jiang shook his head as the motorcade sped away down the Strand in central London to attend a reception for the Bank of China at the Savoy Hotel.