London Police forcibly shut down an anti-lockdown protest on Saturday for allegedly breaching the city’s coronavirus restrictions, arresting 29 people in the process.
Approximately 150 protesters took to the streets of the British capital, demanding that the government rescind its lockdown measures.
After less than one hour into the protest, police officers began arresting activists, claiming violations of social distancing guidelines. The Met also deployed tactics such as kettling in order to suppress crowds and prevent them from gathering.
One protester told Breitbart London: “We are protesting the corona lockdown because we feel that the government’s approach to the pandemic is completely unjust… [it is]taking away our human rights. We aren’t allowed to be humans anymore.”
Another protester said that she feels people have accepted the draconian lockdown measures because they “are weak” and “too scared to push back”.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) revealed that a woman is facing a £10,000 fixed penalty notice for allegedly organising the ‘mass gathering’.
Commander Alex Murray said: “This protest was organised and took place just hours before further restrictions were put in place in London. Such action during an ongoing health emergency is reckless and we will enforce the law without hesitation in these circumstances.”
“Most Londoners, while frustrated with the restrictions that we are all facing, will be disappointed that we are having to deal with such gatherings, and indeed with assaults on police officers who are working to keep the public safe,” Murray added.
Commander Murray went on to say that he hopes the fines and criminal charges will “send a strong message” to anyone “intent on selfishly endangering the health of others” by joining protest gatherings.
“The rules are very clear and our collective actions over the next fortnight will have a direct impact on how quickly our city recovers. If people make reckless decisions that risk lives, I make no apology for the enforcement action that will follow,” he said.
The protest came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that much of Southern England would be placed under the toughest Tier 4 lockdown restrictions for the Christmas season.
Meanwhile, in North London, a Black Lives Matter protest was staged outside the Tottenham police station. The Metropolitan Police did not report any arrests during the left-wing demonstration, despite having similar numbers to the anti-lockdown march.
In an interview with Breitbart London during the anti-lockdown protest, London Assembly Member David Kurten said that there is “clear bias” in how the city has policed anti-lockdown protests versus how police have responded to Black Lives Matter rallies.
“You have Black Lives Matter protests with way more than six people that are allowed to go-ahead… but they come in and specifically target people who are just talking because they think we are against the lockdown and we might have opinions that may be unacceptable to those in Westminster,” Kurten said.
There has been a longstanding disparity in how the police in the British capital have dealt with BLM marches, compared to the largely peaceful anti-lockdown movement. In June, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick admitted that police took a hands-off approach to BLM demonstrations for fear of sparking “serious disorder”.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on Twitter here: @KurtZindulka
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