The Black Lives Matter protester who ‘tagged’ the statue of Winston Churchill said he did it because he believes Britain’s greatest Prime Minister was a ‘confirmed racist’ who cared more about colonialism than black people.
The masked young man, who is being searched for by the Metropolitan Police today for the vandalism in Parliament Square, claimed that Mr Churchill only fought the Nazis to protect the empire – not for ‘people of colour’.
Using black spray paint yesterday he daubed the phrase ‘was racist’ below the wartime leader’s name, leaving the monument reading: ‘Churchill was a racist’. A ‘f*** your agenda’ was also added on the stone.
After leaving Parliament Square last night he spoke to a BBC reporter and said: ‘I tagged up the statue of Churchill because he’s a confirmed racist. He fought the Nazis to protect the Commonwealth from invasion – he didn’t do it for black people or for people of colour or for people of anything. He did it sheerly for colonialism. People will be angry – but I’m angry that for many years we have been oppressed’.
He added; You can’t enslave people, have the largest colonial empire in history and be like ‘Yeah let’s be peaceful – let’s talk’. It don’t work like that. We’re p***ed off. F**k that’. He also said that people from BAME backgrounds who fought in the Second World War are not properly recognised for their sacrifices.
Critics have flagged the Twitter video to the Met Police to help their investigation – but his supporters have urged the BBC reporter to delete it in case it led detectives to him accusing him of putting the graffiti artist ‘at risk’.
It came as a group of volunteers including four Army cadets cleaned up the memorial to Winston Churchill with their own cleaning products in London this morning. One, a warehouse worker called Max, 25, who had just finished a night shift and went to Saturday’s protests, also cleaned up, telling MailOnline he went there because it ‘just felt like it was the right thing to do.’
A professional cleaner – remarkably called Winston – also turned up to do the job professionally after a group of Tory MPs started scrubbing the plinth before English Heritage officers told them to stop because they ‘would end up doing more damage’.
Fears of a second wave of coronavirus were sparked today after thousands of Black Lives Matters protesters defied pleas from the government to not gather in groups and took to the streets across Britain over the weekend.
Professor Keith Neal, an epidemiologist at Nottingham University, told MailOnline the protests are ‘not going to help keep transmission down’.
As the row over Black Lives Matter protests continued today, it also emerged:
- Boris Johnson insists Britain isn’t a racist country while Home Secretary Priti Patel vowed to bring violent protesters to ‘justice’ for attacking police in London and tearing down the Edward Colston statue in Bristol. 17 suspects have been identified by Avon and Somerset Police but there have been no arrests;
- Policing minister Kit Malthouse said there would need to be a ‘post-mortem’ into how the anti-racism protests across the weekend were enforced – but said it was not practical to arrest all those who took part for breaking coronavirus-related restrictions;
- Met Police Chief Cressida Dick says she is ‘depressed’ by the BLM disturbances and said: ‘The violent criminality we saw is disgraceful and will have been frightening’
- Bristol’s Mayor Marvin Rees says he is in ‘no rush’ to fish out the Edward Colston statue and says when it is pulled from the dock it will probably go to a museum rather than be put back;
- Sir Keir Starmer has said the toppling of a slave trader statue during Black Lives Matter protests in Bristol was ‘completely wrong’ – but adds the statue should have been removed some time ago;
Activists stand around the Churchill statue yesterday after it was daubed in graffiti during the Black Lives Matter protests
A group of young men of remove graffiti from a statue of Winston Churchill at Parliament Square in London this morning
The graffiti artist’s supporters have called for the BBC to delete their video of his interview in case it leads police to him
Demonstrators raise their fists in the air after climbing onto the statue in Parliament Square during the Black Lives Matters protest on Sunday
A protester is placed in a spit hood as he is restrained by Police Officers close to Westminster tube station yesterday
It came as the clean-up also began in Bristol as council crews removed BLM placards and used chemicals and spray to clean graffit off the plinth from which the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was torn down yesterday.
Speaking to MailOnline today, Max said: ‘For me it was a decision I made last night. I worked during a long night shift and I received the news that the statue was being defaced. I just felt like it was the right thing to do.
‘It was completely independent, I thought to myself I’d be the only one there. I didn’t mean to antagonise or upset anyone to do it. When I got there I was pleased to see four young Army cadets already cleaning the statue.
‘I did actually attend the Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday in support of the movement. I feel strongly to show solidarity. I understand the actions that carried on late into last night were that of a minority.
‘But I will not have war memorials defaced. The violence and to see the anger and hatred towards the police was very, very hard to watch for me. It came to standing up for what’s right.’
Max added: ‘We brought our own cleaning products and they weren’t really up to the job. We only left because remarkably a gentleman called Winston asked us to stop because he’d been asked to do the job professionally.’
Priti Patel today vowed to bring violent Black Lives Matter protesters to ‘justice’ for attacking police in London and tearing down the Edward Colston statue in Bristol as Labour MPs backed its destruction – but police officers battling the activists in the streets say their bosses have got their tactics ‘completely wrong’.
The Home Secretary said that the UK demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis had been ‘subverted by thuggery’ and told those responsible: ‘Justice will follow’.
She told the Commons this afternoon: ‘We strongly support the right to protest peacefully but that does not extend to the violent behaviour that we have witnessed across the country throughout the weekend. And when it comes to any assault on our brave police that is completely unacceptable. Any perpetrator should be in absolutely no doubt that they will be arrested and prosecuted.’
She added: ‘We are privileged to live in an open, democratic country with many values entrenched not just in our constitution but also in a rules-based system.
‘There is no justification for violence at all. And when it comes to exercising people’s voices and obviously their particular issues and concerns there are many avenues through which those voices and concerns can be raised and made at a local council level.
‘Obviously that is the right way to approach these issues.’
Rank-and-file officers left bloodied by attacks with sticks and rocks have today accused their bosses of allowing ‘lawlessness’ to take hold because of public perception instead of allowing them to deal with the attackers ‘more robustly’.
In Bristol there have been no arrests at all in relation to the destruction of Colston’s statue despite 17 suspects being identified and Avon and Somerset Police have said they have ‘no regrets’ about not stopping it being pulled down and thrown in the city’s harbour.
Labour’s shadow justice secretary David Lammy has compared those who toppled the monument to followers of Martin Luther King and the suffragettes – but said it ‘should have come down a long time ago in a democratic way’.
He told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘I’m quite sure that those young people who brought that statue down knew that they would be facing the law but that was a price they were willing to pay and there are many examples throughout history, from Martin Luther King to Harvey Milk, who protested on behalf of gay rights. Many, many men and women following these people and being prepared to break the law because they believed the issue of justice they wanted to shine a light on was a bigger project’.
Since last Wednesday 49 officers in London have been injured but there have only been around 60 arrests – and Ken Marsh, chief of the Met Police Federation, has asked Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to apologise to her officers and said: ‘Let me be clear, we as a police service can deal with these outbreaks of disorder, no problems. But it seems we are more concerned about image and perception rather than protecting our brave police officers and maintaining order.
‘It’s sadly now clear – and frankly has been clear for a number of days – that some people are using these protests as an excuse to attack police officers. We have had enough warnings. The tactics being used by the Metropolitan Police are very wrong. And need to be looked at as a matter of urgency.’
In Bristol yesterday a group armed with ropes and tools dragged down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in a ‘premeditated’ act of criminal damage and were then allowed to roll it to the city’s dock and hurl it into the water.
Superintendent Andy Bennett, who was in charge in the city yesterday, said he had ‘no regrets’ about not intervening as activists dragged the statue down – but conceded that officers were ‘duty-bound’ to investigate. He said: ‘As a police officer, I don’t get to choose which laws I uphold and which I don’t. We are duty-bound to investigate this. We know and have identified 17 main offenders in terms of tearing it down and an investigation is underway.’
Avon and Somerset Police chief constable Andy Marsh backed the decision and said that had his officers intervened to arrest those responsible there would have been a ‘very violent confrontation’.
‘To arrest suspects would likely to lead to injuries to suspects, injuries to officers, and people who were not involved in damaging property being thrown into a very violent confrontation with the police that could have had serious ramifications for the city of Bristol and beyond,’ Mr Marsh said.
‘Can you imagine scenes of police in Bristol fighting with protesters who were damaging the statue of a man who is reputed to have gathered much of his fortune through the slave trade?
‘I think there would have been very serious implications and whilst I certainly do not condone crime or damage of any sort, I fully support the actions of my officers.
‘They responded with common sense, sound judgment and in the best interest of public safety.’
A council employee later turned up to clean graffiti from the statue of Winston Churchill at Parliament Square this morning
The volunteers brought their own cleaning products as they tried to remove graffiti from the Churchill statue today
A protester is pulled away as peaceful demonstrations in the capital turn violent in the wake of the death of George Floyd in the U.S.
As the protests descended into chaos, one protester (left and right) was seen climbing on the historic monument The Cenotaph and setting fire to the Union Jack flag
Protesters throw statue of Edward Colston into Bristol harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest rally yesterday
The chairman of the Police Federation, which represents all officers in England and Wales, has criticised Avon and Somerset Police for its decision not to intervene in a protest in Bristol where a statue of a slave trader was torn down.
John Apter told BBC Breakfast: ‘To have no police presence there I think sent quite a negative message. I am a police officer so I don’t support this lawlessness we saw where this statue was ripped down and rolled down the street and pushed into the river because that is not how we do things’.
Max, 25, (above) a warehouse worker who attended the BLM protests on Saturday, said he felt compelled to clean the graffiti from Churchill’s statue this morning
In London 22 officers were injured over the weekend on top of 13 last week after being pelted with objects on Whitehall. One activist clambered onto The Cenotaph, the war monument dedicated to the millions of lives lost during the First World War, and set fire to the Union Jack flag, while another gang defaced the monument to Winston Churchill in Westminster and daubed ‘was a racist’ on its plinth.
Police officers were shown being chased down streets and across bridges by protesters throwing bottles and rocks. One Met Police riot unit tackling the violence tweeted a picture of a boulder thrown at them last night and said: ‘No it’s not an asteroid. It’s one of the many things we had thrown at us last night between Parliament Square and Elephant and Castle. Multiple officers injured from our line alone. Unacceptable’.
Yesterday, one activist even scaled the huge statue to stick a ‘Black Lives Matter’ placard to the wartime leader’s torso. Home Secretary Priti Patel had branded those who had defaced the monument ‘repulsive criminals’.
She said: ‘Winston Churchill is one of the greatest Britons who ever lived. We have him to thank for our very freedom to protest. The vandals who did this are repulsive criminals who I want to see brought to justice.’
Under the Churchill status yesterday, a protester had stuck a sign laying out why they believed he was a racist, saying he called the Indians a ‘beastly’ people and supported the use of poison gas against ‘uncivilised tribes’.
Some protestors posed for photos in front of the defaced statue and a group of activists took a knee around it in Parliament Square. Four uniformed police stood nearby as the crowd took photographs.
Banners with messages such as ‘British Colonialism is to Blame’ and ‘What if it was your son?’ had been left at the base of the column. A white man later stripped away the banners and walked away as the crowd shouted at him.
The area has become a key gathering place for activists demanding racial justice and opposing the Government. The £30,000 statue was unveiled by his widow Clementine in 1973 and created by Ivor Roberts-Jones.
Protesters hold placards at the Churchill statue during the Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square yesterday
It is not the first time it has been defaced. In 2000, it was sprayed with red paint to give the appearance of blood dripping from its mouth, while during the 2010 student protests it was defaced and urinated on.
It comes after the Prime Minister said the anti-racism demonstrations had been ‘subverted by thuggery’ after protesters tore down a statue of a slave trader in Bristol and clashed with police in the capital.
Scotland Yard said 12 people were arrested and eight officers injured in London yesterday, while in Bristol protesters toppled the bronze memorial to slave trader Edward Colston and dumped it into the harbour.
Black Lives Matter demonstrations were carried out peacefully for much of yesterday in London, but there were clashes with police on Whitehall, with bottles thrown at officers in one incident near the Cenotaph.
Most of yesterday’s arrests related to public order offences, while one was for criminal damage following an incident at the Cenotaph. Scotland Yard said 29 people were arrested and 14 officers were injured on Saturday.
Police officers stand in a line next to protesters during a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Westminster today
Police clash with Black Lives Matter protesters during the demonstration in Westminster yesterday
Police clash with protesters during the Black Lives Matter protest rally in Westminster yesterday
George Floyd (left), a 46-year-old black man, died after white police officer Derek Chauvin (right) put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for nine minutes
Meghan Markle hopes her speech to pupils at her old school addressing racial division gave them ‘comfort and inspiration’ and says her ‘heart hurts for those graduating into a world of uncertainty and injustice’, source tells Hello!
Meghan Markle’s heart ‘hurts’ for young people graduating into a world of ‘uncertainty and injustice’ and she hopes her impassioned speech to pupils at her old school addressing racial division gave them ‘hope, comfort and inspiration’, according to a report.
The Duchess of Sussex broke her silence on the murder of George Floyd and gave her support to the Black Lives Matter protests in the US last week during an address to graduating students at Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles.
She revealed she had not spoken about the death of the 46-year-old black man, who died after white police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for nine minutes, before because she had been ‘nervous’.
A source told Hello! magazine that the situation ‘raised a lot of emotion’ for Meghan, 38, who has opened up in the past about how racism has affected her own family.
The Duchess of Sussex broke her silence on the murder of George Floyd last week, declaring that ‘black lives matter’ and revealed that she had not spoken about his death before because she had been ‘nervous’. Meghan, 38, gave an address to graduating pupils at her old school, Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles (pictured)
‘Meghan was excited to be part of the IHHS graduation ceremony, but, after this week, knew there was no way she could speak to a group of compassionate, service-driven young women without addressing George Floyd and the racism that plagues this country,’ they said.
‘Her heart hurts for the young people that are graduating into a world of uncertainty and injustice. She hopes her words provided a small bit of hope, comfort or inspiration to the school community she cares about so deeply.’
In her poignant six-minute virtual speech delivered to pupils at her former school, Meghan said: ‘George Floyd’s life mattered and Breonna Taylor’s life mattered and Philando Castile’s life mattered and Tamir Rice’s life mattered.’
The other three people Meghan mentioned were African Americans killed by US police over the past six years.
The Duchess also referred to Los Angeles as the family’s ‘home town’ after moving there with Harry and their son Archie, one.
![According to the source, Meghan was 'excited to be part of the IHHS graduation ceremony, but, after this week, knew there was no way she could speak to a group of compassionate, service-driven young women without addressing George Floyd and the racism that plagues [the US]'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/06/08/16/29364386-8398909-According_to_the_source_Meghan_was_excited_to_be_part_of_the_IHH-a-59_1591630549968.jpg)
According to the source, Meghan was ‘excited to be part of the IHHS graduation ceremony, but, after this week, knew there was no way she could speak to a group of compassionate, service-driven young women without addressing George Floyd and the racism that plagues [the US]’
On speaking out about Mr Floyd, she said: ‘I wasn’t sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that it would get picked apart. And I realised the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing.’
The video was released to black women’s lifestyle magazine Essence, which published it on its website saying ‘courtesy of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’.
The Duchess also said how the students are ‘going to have empathy for those who don’t see the world through the same lens that you do’, adding: ‘With as diverse, vibrant and opened-minded as I know the teachings at Immaculate Heart are, I know you know that black lives matter.’
Meghan also referred to some advice she was given by a teacher aged 15, saying: ‘I remember my teacher at the time, one of my teachers, Ms Pollia, said to me as I was leaving for a day of volunteering, “always remember to put other’s needs above your own fears”.
‘And that has stuck with me throughout my entire life and I have thought about it more in the last week than ever before.’
On speaking out about Mr Floyd, Meghan (pictured in South Africa in September) said: ‘I wasn’t sure what I could say to you. I wanted to say the right thing and I was really nervous that it would get picked apart. And I realised the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing’
Meghan was referring to her former theology teacher, Maria Pollia, who has previously described her as a ‘remarkable student’ who was ‘very enthusiastic about the material, but always took it a step further’.
Meghan also spoke to the students about their futures, saying: ‘You know that you’re going to rebuild, rebuild and rebuild until it is rebuilt.
‘Because when the foundation is broken, so are we. You are going to lead with love, you are going to lead with compassion, you are going to use your voice.’
Her speech left some Immaculate Heart students in tears, with one on Twitter with the user name ‘blm • gia’ saying: ‘Meghan Markle talking about George Floyd and BLM in my virtual graduation. I’m crying.’
Yesterday it emerged Harry and Meghan have been ‘quietly’ having meetings with key people and organisations linked to the Black Lives Matter movement to ‘educate’ themselves.
Meghan mentioned three other people who were killed by US police over the past six years during her speech to pupils at her old school. She also referred to Los Angeles as the family’s ‘home town’ after moving there with Harry and their son Archie, one (pictured together in South Africa in September)
According to a source, the couple have been having ‘private conversations’ with people ‘on all levels’ to ensure they are ‘connected to the issues of police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement’.
They told Harper’s Bazaar’s royal editor Omid Scobie: ‘Harry and Meghan have been having private conversations with community leaders and people at every level, to ensure that they understand current events.
‘This is something that is incredibly personal to Meghan, especially given everything she has experienced. And as a couple, it is, of course, very important. They are both feeling it, just like the rest of us.’
Meghan has previously described the experiences of both her mother and grandfather, and her own journey as a biracial woman.
Protests have taken place across America and beyond after white police officer Derek Chauvin (seen right) knelt on unarmed George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds last week, despite Floyd’s desperate repeated pleas for help crying, ‘I can’t breathe’. Floyd (left and right) passed out and later died
The former Suits star became the first mixed-race person in modern history to marry a senior British royal, in 2018.
But Meghan and the Duke of Sussex quit as senior working royals in March to pursue personal and financial freedom in the US, after telling of their struggles dealing with their royal life and the intense media interest.
The American ex-actress recounted, before marrying into the Windsor family, how her grandfather told her as a child that he and his family stopped off at Kentucky Fried Chicken during a road trip, but had to go to the back of the restaurant for ‘coloureds’ and eat the chicken in the car park.
‘That story still haunts me,’ she wrote. ‘It reminds me of how young our country is. How far we’ve come and how far we still have to come.’
An old clip of Meghan filmed as part of the ‘I Won’t Stand For…’ campaign for non-profit organisation Erase the Hate, has come to light following the recent protests. In the video, Meghan shared her hope that society will become more ‘open-minded’
Meghan, whose father Thomas Markle is Caucasian and mother Doria Ragland is African-American, wrote of her background: ‘While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that.
‘To say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman.’
In a piece for Elle Magazine in 2015, she said she witnessed her mother being called ‘the n word’ by another driver in Los Angeles and described the heartache it caused.
‘My skin rushed with heat as I looked to my mom. Her eyes welling with hateful tears, I could only breathe out a whisper of words, so hushed they were barely audible: ‘It’s OK, Mommy’,’ she wrote.
Meghan also described how her great-great-great-grandfather went on to create his own identity when freed from slavery.
The Duchess has opened up in the past about how racism has affected her own family. She is pictured as a young girl with her father Thomas Markle
‘Because in 1865 (which is so shatteringly recent), when slavery was abolished in the United States, former slaves had to choose a name. A surname, to be exact,’ she wrote.
‘Perhaps the closest thing to connecting me to my ever-complex family tree, my longing to know where I come from and the commonality that links me to my bloodline, is the choice that my great-great-great grandfather made to start anew.
‘He chose the last name Wisdom.’
As a child, her father, from whom she is now estranged, created a Barbie family for Christmas when they were only sold in sets of white dolls or black dolls.
She wrote on her lifestyle blog how her new collection had ‘a black mom doll, a white dad doll, and a child in each colour. My dad had taken the sets apart and customised my family.’
‘If you think I’m a racist, go f*** yourself’: Anthony Joshua hits out at critics of his Black Lives Matters speech where he told people to stop spending money in ‘their’ shops and ‘invest in black-owned businesses’ instead
Anthony Joshua has hit out at critics who accused him of racism after he told a Black Lives Matter crowd to stop spending money in ‘their’ shops and ‘invest in black-owned businesses’.
The heavyweight champion, 30, had joined hundreds of protesters at a rally in Watford on Saturday, where he read out a letter about the fight against racism.
Speaking to the crowd, Joshua delivered an impassioned speech written by his friend Reece Campbell who he said was unable to attend the gathering.
In a short clip of the address which was posted to social media without context, he said: ‘Show them where it hurts.
‘Abstain from spending your money in their shops and economies, and invest in black-owned businesses.’
After facing criticism and accusations of racism over the snippet, Joshua took to Twitter on Sunday to explain ‘the speech was passed around for someone to read and I took the lead.’
He said: ‘If you think I’m a racist, go f*** yourself! If you watch the full video, the speech was passed around for someone to read and I took the lead.
Anthony Joshua hits back at critics who claimed he is ‘racist’ following his speech in the park
Joshua responded to critics with an image of some text on Twitter on Sunday evening
‘I personally spoke from the heart about the Watford community, ideas of us personally investing seven figures to create unity and opportunities and adding change to the African/Caribbean community.
‘Shops aren’t the issue here. Before you talk s***, you better boycott racism.’
He posted the statement alongside a short video, which shows him holding up a piece of paper and saying: ‘That was a few words from my friend Reece who couldn’t make it here today.
‘Thank you all for listening. I hope you can all take something away from today whether it’s individually or community-wise.
‘So these are my own words. I didn’t really plan anything, I’m not into the public-speaking stuff unless it’s a question and answer type of thing.’
In another clip from the rally, Joshua is seen standing on crutches as he called on the crowd to ‘stand united against the virus which has been instrumental in taking lives.’
Reading Mr Campbell’s letter, he said: ‘Today we join many thousands of protesters in the UK and many hundreds of thousands across the globe.
‘We stand united against the virus which has been instrumental in taking lives. A virus which is not apologetic, a virus that spreads across all sectors of our communities – sports, education, churches, entertainment, the media and the Government.
‘Not just in the UK, but across the world. The virus has been declared a pandemic, this is out of control and I’m not talking about Covid-19. The virus I’m referring to is called racism.’
The heavyweight champion read aloud a speech from a piece of paper during the protests
A snippet of the initial speech Joshua read was taken out of context on social media
He went on to call for Britons to ‘speak out in peaceful demonstrations’, but to not ‘use these demonstrations for selfish motives and turn it into rioting and looting.’
‘How long are we going to allow racism to spread through our community and affect our lives without using the vaccine you already have in your possession? Me and you, you are the vaccine, I am the vaccine.
‘We can no longer, from today onwards, we can no longer sit back and remain silent on the senseless, unlawful killings, sly racism of another human being based only on what? Their skin colour.’
Joshua later spoke to a local councillor who had attended the demonstration, and proposed plans to create a new community centre in Watford.
The boxer, who lives in the town with his son JJ, four, said he hopes to purchase a building and create a space for young people in the community to go after school.
The anti-racism protest was one of dozens taking place across the globe this weekend following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, United States on May 25.
Protests have occurred around the world following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis
Joshua joined hundreds of peaceful protestors on the march through his hometown
Joshua wore a hoodie with Black Lives Matter on the front in support of the movement
Police officer Derek Chauvin has since been charged with second degree murder after a video emerged showing him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while he laid on the floor in handcuffs.
His death has sparked a series of protests across the US and solidarity demonstrations around the world.
Speaking at the rally on Saturday, Joshua went on to explain that the death of Floyd was the catalyst for the protests.
‘But I know I’ve taken my street knowledge and put it into the corporate world and I’ve gained a lot of respect in that sense. So anyway, gang culture is done,’ he said.
‘So, where was I. We have to engage with the youth and put an end to black youth gang culture. This postcode war – how many houses do we own on that postcode that we’re fighting for?
Joshua wore a leg brace and walked with crutches after sustaining a training injury
Hundreds turned out for the Black Lives Matter protest march in Watford on Saturday
‘Let’s inject the vaccine. Every life matters – 100 per cent I agree with that. But that does include black lives and that’s why we’re here today.
‘George Floyd – we’re all aware of his name – was the catalyst in a list that is already way, way, way too long.’
Joshua’s appearance on crutches also saw fans fear that the heavyweight boxer sustained a serious injury.
However, spokesperson for the 30-year-old confirmed to Sportsmail that his injury is not serious, saying: ‘Anthony felt a slight twinge in his knee whilst training.
‘The brace Is a precautionary measure on the advise of physios. It will be further checked by his doctors but there is no immediate concern.’