Police and counter-protesters form a defensive ring around uncovered Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square as Black Lives Matter campaigners take to London’s streets for a fourth weekend
- Officers are guarding Sir Winston Churchill’s statue after the plinth was defaced during a BLM demonstration
- An estimated 600 people have gathered in Hyde Park today before marching down to Parliament Square
- Police have warned the public to keep clear of mass gatherings after past rallies during violent and disorderly
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Police have formed a defensive ring around Sir Winston Churchill’s statue in Parliament Square as Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters take to London’s streets for a fourth weekend.
Officers are guarding Sir Winston’s statue, which was boarded up after the plinth was defaced during a rally, ahead of protests between BLM activists and counter-protesters.
An estimated 600 people have gathered in Hyde Park this afternoon to listen to rousing speeches, before marching through London city centre and demonstrating at Parliament Square.
Police have warned the public to keep clear of mass gatherings after last weekend’s protests turned violent and disorderly in Parliament Square and around Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar.
Demonstrations have erupted across the UK since the death of George Floyd, a black man who died while a white Minneapolis officer knelt on his neck for just under nine minutes, in the US.
Officers are guarding Sir Winston’s statue, which was boarded up last week after the plinth was defaced during a rally, ahead of protests between BLM activists and counter-protesters
Counter-protesters have joined police in forming a defensive ring around Sir Winston Churchill’s statue in Parliament today
An estimated 600 people have gathered in Hyde Park this afternoon to listen to rousing speeches, before marching through London city centre and demonstrating at Parliament Square
Police have warned the public to keep clear of nation-wide mass gatherings after last weekend’s protests turned violent and disorderly in Parliament Square and around Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar
Protesters have assembled at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park to listen to activists call for the removal of Munira Mirza, Boris Johnson’s policy chief, as head of the new race inequality commission.
The crowd is expected to march through London city centre and protest at Parliament at around 4pm.
Standing before a crowd of around 600, Imarn Ayton thundered: ‘We are all here today because we know that black lives matter, we are all here today because we know that black is beautiful.
‘And we are all here today because we know that it is time to burn down institutional racism.’
She continued: ‘Boris Johnson has responded to our cry, Boris Johnson has heard our cry and he has responded with a new race inequality commission. We appreciate a response, we like a response but we know that a grave mistake has been made, a catastrophic mistake has been made.
‘Boris Johnson has appointed a lady called Munira Mirza to head up our race inequality commission. This is a woman who does not believe in institutional racism – she has argued it is more of a perception than a reality.’