Middle- class dropout who says: Now let’s axe the police

HE IS the middle-class university dropout who has helped mastermind Black Lives Matter into one of Britain’s most powerful movements.

Brand consultant Joshua Virasami is the only one of a secretive group behind the UK’s Black Lives Matter campaign to have spoken openly about its far-Left agenda.

Mr Virasami, 29, who describes himself as an ‘artist’ and ‘agitator’, grew up in Hounslow, West London, and briefly attended Loughborough University before dropping out to become a full-time protester and musician.

After spending much of 2014 travelling from Turkey to India, he helped form BLM UK in 2016, adopting the name of the American movement. The group’s first protests were held on August 5, 2016, blocking roads in Birmingham, Nottingham and London. Mr Virasami and eight others were convicted of wilful obstruction of the highway.

In 2017, Mr Virasami co-founded East London brand agency Blackcurrent, which lists Greenpeace, Penguin Random House, the Southbank Centre and the Mayor of London among its clients. He has also written a guide for activists entitled How To Change It, to be published in September by Merky Books, owned by rapper Stormzy.

Setting out a route-map for BLM UK three years ago, Mr Virasami said: ‘We are going to interrupt the mainstream media but we are also going to be in your church, in your synagogue, in your primary school.’ He has adopted the call from US protesters to ‘defund the police’ and reallocate funds to areas such as housing or youth services.

The MoS contacted Mr Virasami and BLM UK by email but did not receive a reply.