Boris Johnson condemns ‘racist thuggery’ of rightwing protesters in London | UK news

Boris Johnson has condemned violence by protesters in central London on Saturday as “racist thuggery” in a publish on Twitter. “Anybody attacking the police shall be met with full pressure of the regulation. These marches and protests have been subverted by violence and breach present pointers,” he wrote.

The prime minister continued: “Racism has no half within the UK and we should work collectively to make {that a} actuality.”

By 9pm on Saturday, police have been reporting that they had made greater than 100 arrests “for offences together with breach of the peace, violent dysfunction, assault on officers, possession of an offensive weapon, possession of sophistication A medication, and drunk and dysfunction”.

At one level, the demonstrators, who included far-right activists, took over Parliament Sq. and pelted mounted police with bottles, cans and a smoke canister. In a while, as police in riot gear shaped traces to comprise protesters within the sq., additionally they got here below assault from a hail of bottles and cans.

By about 5.30pm, London ambulance service stated it had handled 15 folks for accidents, together with two cops. Six of them, all members of the general public, needed to be taken to hospital.

Saturday’s demonstration was in response to a social media callout to “defend the monuments”, after graffiti on the statue of Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph in London, and the toppling of the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, throughout Black Lives Matter protests final weekend.

By about 11am a number of thousand primarily white protesters had gathered, lots of them consuming. At factors they chanted the title of the far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson, and “Eng-ger-land”.

Statues of Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Gandhi had been boarded off. On the statue of Churchill, somebody had caught a poster with a message that learn: “Don’t destroy our historical past. Maintain our historical past and study from it so the identical errors don’t occur once more.”

Talking earlier than the clashes, Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First, stated the crowds had turned out to “guard our monuments”, telling the PA information company: “I’m extraordinarily fed up with the best way that the authorities have allowed two consecutive weekends of vandalism in opposition to our nationwide monuments.

“Anybody who comes alongside as we speak to try to vandalise them will most likely be handled by all of those Englishmen that turned up, and so they’re fed up as nicely.”

Within the aftermath, Priti Patel condemned the “desecration” of the memorial dedicated to PC Keith Palmer, killed through the Westminster Bridge assault, after a person was seen urinating subsequent to it.

In a media clip by which the house secretary described the person’s actions as “completely appalling and shameful”, she stated: “We’ve seen a small minority behave in excessive thuggery and violent behaviour as we speak.

“That’s merely unacceptable and the people which might be principally placing the protection of our cops and the protection of the general public in danger will count on to face the total pressure of the regulation.”

Patel went on to say that racism “is just not acceptable”.

The Labour chief, Sir Keir Starmer, stated the violence proven in the direction of the police had been “utterly unacceptable”. He tweeted: “At this time’s protests in London have been led by these intent on inflicting violence and sowing hate for their very own ends. We should not allow them to win.”

Earlier, police had imposed strict situations on the rightwing rally, and any counter-demonstration held by BLM protesters, after fears {that a} assembly of the 2 would result in violence. Nevertheless, organisers of BLM demonstrations in central London cancelled their occasions over fears of battle. The London Antifascist Meeting (LAFA), which has opposed almost each rightwing rally in London, late on Friday tweeted that it was rescinding its callout.

A number of hundred did rally in Hyde Park, after a callout by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR). A witness on the scene stated protesters made speeches earlier than marching to Marble Arch and taking a knee. They dispersed quickly after seeing suspected scouts from the opposing demo and fearing a confrontation.

One protester instructed the Guardian she was disenchanted there had not been an even bigger presence to oppose the presence of the far proper. Weyman Bennett, the co-convenor of SUTR, stated: “It’s a shame that the far proper have been allowed to be concerned in thuggery and rioting, and that’s as a result of our prime minister gave them a inexperienced mild by not correctly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, which is a name for equality. Thats what Stand Up To Racism is asking for, that’s why we stood with some younger folks in Marble Arch.”

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who had urged folks in Parliament Sq. to depart by the 5pm deadline, added his voice to sentence “the shameful scenes of violence, desecration and racism displayed by the right-wing extremists who gathered in our metropolis as we speak”. He praised the police, saying they “did a unbelievable job to manage the scenario” within the face of assaults and abuse.

The gang started to disperse round 5pm and by about 6.30pm, police have been shifting the previous couple of far-right protesters away from Parliament Sq..

Elsewhere in the country, peaceable anti-racist demonstrations happened. In Brighton, greater than 10,000 protesters attended a Black Lives Matter occasion within the metropolis centre, the place Sussex police stated the demonstration was peaceable and no arrests have been made.

Avon and Somerset Police stated about 300 folks attended an indication in Bristol metropolis centre, with two arrests made.