Police in London were seen standing by and watching as hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters gathered in apparent violation of the city’s China virus restrictions, despite forcibly cracking down on other protests over the weekend.
On Sunday, hundreds of BLM activists took to the streets of London to denounce police brutality and to stand in ‘solidarity’ with the #EndSars movement in Nigeria.
In a Breitbart London exclusive video, police were filmed standing by as the crowds gathered in the British capital. Police presence was also very light in comparison to what was witnessed at an anti-lockdown march held the day before, on Saturday.
The BLM protesters amassed by Marble Arch in Hyde Park in the early afternoon, before marching through Oxford Circus to the Nigerian High Commission, Scotland Yard, and finally congregating Parliament Square.
Outside Scotland Yard — the home of the city’s police force — an activist told the crowd that the police are “racist” and that they don’t care about the lives of black people.
“Anywhere we go, can’t lie, we are going to face police brutality. And we have to remember, we speak about the U.S., right? But we need to speak about this country and the brutalities they put upon us,” she said.
“The UK is not innocent at all guys, not innocent at all,” she concluded.
Later in the protest, another activist was filmed in a Breitbart London video calling for black people to continue mass gatherings and urging them to protest and speak for their “skin colour”.
He went on to claim that black people “built the West”, arguing that the only reason British cities like Bristol are flourishing is because of colonialism.
Kurt Zindulka / Breitbart NewsIn contrast to the lax policing of the BLM rally on Sunday, riot police in London were seen using their batons against anti-lockdown protesters on Saturday.
Following the introduction of Tier 2 lockdown restrictions — which prohibit Londoners from mixing with people from other households indoors, in addition to the already in place ban on gatherings of more than six people and a city-wide 10 pm curfew on bars and restaurants — anti-lockdown protesters took to the streets in rebellion against the limits on their liberties.
Police confronted the StandUpX ‘March for Freedom’ protesters, knocking a man to the ground as they shouted “stay the f*** back” according to The Mirror.
On Friday evening, police were also seen arresting anti-lockdown protesters and revellers for gathering in the late-night London hotspot Soho.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, the police force’s lead coronavirus officer criticised the “dangerous and reckless breaches of the regulations”.
“We will not hesitate to take action against those individuals or businesses who put people at risk,” Twist said.
The disparity in policing seen at anti-lockdown protests compared to BLM marches in the city has been longstanding, with Metropolitan Police commissioner, Cressida Dick, admitting that the police took a hands-off approach to BLM protests out of fear of sparking “serious disorder”.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here: @KurtZindulka
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