Thinking a bit more about Hoxton etc., reminded me of a prank that was executed in Pris some years ago, during the period that Belleville was restructured. If you're not familiar with the district it would be one of the few truely popular quarters remaining in the city. Opponents of the plan sabotaged the consultation session pretty systematically, but it was their sub rosa activiy that really caused a scandal.

Posing as interested local citizens, enthusiastic at the plan, they wrote a letter to the mayor [nominally in charge of the business] congratulating him on his efforts, underlining the danger of disorder and antisocial activity inherent in free public space, the necessity of doing away with same, the need to have absolute protection from the street, etc. The mayor responded warmly. A second letter was then penned, which proffered some other suggestions to be taken into account during the 'restructuring process'. The epistle concluded by asking the Mayor if he would be willing to preface a volume on architecture and urbanism which they would shortly be publishing. By return, he thanked them for their suggestions and indicated that he would be favourabley disposed towards their request.

What he didn't know was that several sectyions of the second letter were in fact verbatim citations from Mein Kampf. And he ought to have guessed, seeing as the first note contained sections such as 'A Eulogy to Petrification' and signed off with 'Let us be the makers of our own straightjackets'! The correspondence was then published and distributed, leading to legal action for libel, the seizure of the book from newspaper stands in Belleville where it was available for sale etc. Needless to say, the papers rather liked the staory and Bariani (the Mayor) suffered considerable ridicule.