Far-right protesters, cops clash in London
LONDON: On a day when London was gearing up for mass protests against racism and police brutality, events took a completely different turn as far-right demonstrators clashed with the police and made the headlines.
Far-right groups confronted the police near Parliament Square, where they had gathered in support of historical monuments that are being targeted by anti-racism protesters.
Monuments of prominent people from history who advocated racism and slave trade have become flashpoints globally in demonstrations against racism and police violence after the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis when a white policeman knelt on his neck.
In London, while the police were struggling to control the far-right demonstrators, a Black Lives Matter group called off a rally, explaining that the presence of far-right protesters would make it unsafe for them to demonstrate peacefully.
Smaller groups of anti-racism protesters later showed up at
Hyde Park.
Near Parliament Square, where the statues of Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela were boarded up earlier this week to protect them from being taken down or damaged, far-right demonstrators hurled flares and bottles at the police.
As footage of clashes emerged, UK home secretary Priti Patel tweeted, “Thoroughly unacceptable thuggery. Any perpetrators of violence or vandalism should expect to face the full force of the law. Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated.”