Far-right groups disrupt anti-racism protests in London
Despite repeated warnings by British political leaders and police officials to stay off the streets, thousands of demonstrators came out in force in central London to continue the anti-racism protests now sweeping the UK.
But the protests have been disrupted by crowds of counter-demonstrators, mostly made up of far-right extremists and English nationalists.
The counter-demonstrators clashed with police close to Westminster Bridge, pelting them with bottles and other missiles.
Far-right crowds and English nationalists also gathered in Parliament Square and marched towards the covered Winston Churchill monument.
The far-right counter-demonstrators claimed they had turned up to protect statues of British icons and monuments to Britain’s war dead from the anti-racism protesters.
Earlier the police had sealed the Churchill statue and the Cenotaph (war memorial) in steel to protect them from the wrath of anti-racism and anti-war campaigners.
In an effort to regain control of the streets the Metropolitan Police has set out new conditions for protesters, notably requiring protests to end by 17:00 BST on Saturday.
The Met Police has also put a Section 60 order (providing enhanced stop and search powers) in place until 02:00 BST on Sunday in an effort to arrest the momentum of street protests and counter-demonstrations.
In a sign the British political establishment is becoming increasingly jittery over the anti-racism protests – and the reaction it is eliciting from the far-right – most leading political figures have called on people to avoid street gatherings.
Hardline Home Secretary, Priti Patel, described the violence meted out to the police by the far-right counter-demonstrators as “unacceptable thuggery”.
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