BLACK Lives Matter protesters are marching through the capital today as police promised a “robust” response to any disorder this weekend.
An anti-racism demo went ahead in London today but tomorrow’s meeting has been cancelled over fears it would be hijacked by far-right groups.
Police officers were booed as they moved in to detain two Black Lives Matter protesters this afternoon.
Around 20 officers moved through large crowds of peaceful protesters sitting on the grass to seize a pair of demonstrators and escort them to nearby police vans.
Hundreds of campaigners congregated at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park at 2pm today, before making their way to Parliament Square.
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment on whether anyone was arrested at the demonstration.
The Prime Minister has warned people to stay away from future Black Lives Matter demonstrations, predicting they would “end in deliberate and calculated violence”.
Officers with full riot gear will be on standby this weekend “kitted up and ready to go” amid fears of potential clashes between far-right extremists and anti-racism activists.
Busloads of fans attached to “firms” at various football clubs are planning to travel hundreds of miles tomorrow to defend monuments after a number were vandalised during the Black Lives Matter demos.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has pleaded with the public to stay at home.
A protective box has been erected around the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, while scaffolding and boards were put up around the Cenotaph after the monuments were targeted last weekend.
The protests, sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the US, saw clashes between protesters and police in London, while in Bristol a statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and dumped in the harbour.
The PM voiced his opposition to the decision by a host of local authorities to remove statues.
He said to take statues down would “be to lie about our history”.
Mr Johnson claimed the protests had been “hijacked” by a “growing minority” and were being used “as a pretext to attack the police, to cause violence and to cause damage to public property”.
He added: “Whatever our feelings about the cause, we should not support a demonstration that is, in all probability looking at what has happened before, going to end in deliberate and calculated violence.”
More than 130 people have been arrested as over 155,000 people across the UK took part in almost 200 demonstrations.
A total of 62 police officers have been injured in the protests triggered by the death of Mr Floyd.
The PM’s remarks come as it was reported violent protesters could be jailed within 24 hours after Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and Home Secretary Priti Patel drew up plans based on the response to the 2011 London riots.
Metropolitan Police Commander Bas Javid, the brother of former chancellor Sajid Javid, promised a “robust” response to any disorder at protests over the coming days.
Mr Javid reminded would-be demonstrators that gatherings in groups larger than six were “unlawful” due to Covid-19 restrictions.
He said: “We understand that sentiments and feelings are high and that people want to make their feelings known but the restrictions and the health reasons for those are very real and our concerns are for the communities and people’s health.”
A website called “topple the racists” has compiled a list of around 78 statues and other memorials across the UK it argues should be taken down, because they “celebrate slavery and racism”.
Last night the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust confirmed two statues of people involved in the history of its hospitals will be taken down.
The figures depicting Robert Clayton and Thomas Guy will be taken out of public view because of their association with the slave trade.
Campaigners have also challenged memorials to Sir Robert Peel, founder of the Met Police in London and former prime minister William Gladstone.
In Poole, the statue of Scout founder Robert-Baden Powell was boarded up today.
It won’t be taken down by the local council following a furious backlash from former Scouts and local residents.
