Monuments boarded up in UK ahead of protest

London, June 12: The statue of Mahatma Gandhi in London’s Parliament Square is among several monuments being covered and boarded up here ahead of another set of planned protests, which erupted after the custodial killing of African-American George Floyd.

The steps below Gandhi’s statue and the sculpture of former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill nearby were among those targeted with graffiti during antiracism Black Lives Matter protests last weekend, which ended in violent clashes between demonstrators and police officers on duty.

More clashes are feared this weekend as antiracist groups as well as

The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square is a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country — and the whole of Europe — from a fascist and racist tyranny

BORIS JOHNSON, UK Prime Minister

far-right bodies are planning rival demonstrations in the UK capital. “The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square is a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country — and the whole of Europe — from a fascist and racist tyranny,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a Twitter statement, as he urged people to stay away from further protests amid fears of more violence. “It is absurd and shameful that this national monument should today be at risk of attack by violent protestors. Yes, he sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today, but he was a hero, and he fully deserves his memorial,” he said.

Johnson said that while he understands the “legitimate feelings of outrage” at the custodial death of Floyd, a 46-year-old man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25, the protests held in the UK in solidarity have been “hijacked by extremists” intent on violence.