The Metropolitan Police Federation has claimed that radical leftist groups such as Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and Extinction Rebellion infiltrated the vigil for Sarah Everard on Saturday.
The heavy-handed shut down of the vigil sparked international outrage, however, the police now claim that officers suffered physical attacks from leftists within the crowd.
The chairman of the police federation, Ken Marsh told The Telegraph that 90 per cent of mourners left the vigil before the police took action, following the arrival of Antifa, Extinction Rebellion, and Black Lives Matter infiltrators.
“Twenty-six of my colleagues were abused, spat at or punched,” he said, adding: “One black female officer was racially abused. An individual was arrested. This is unfortunately what happens with things like this. They get hijacked.”
“If it was just a peaceful vigil, there would have been no issues but it wasn’t unfortunately. We had to take the action we had to take,” he said, noting that there were no injuries recorded in the four arrests that were made.
The police received widespread backlash from across the political spectrum, including from Home Secretary Priti Patel, who ordered a review into the officer’s actions by HM Inspectorate of Police.
Former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith called for people to remain from passing judgement until all the facts are known, going on to add that a police officer contacted him personally by a female police officer, who claimed to have received death threats on Saturday.
“She was threatened. She was told she should have been murdered, not Sarah Everard and she was manhandled. We should be dialling this down not raising the temperature by calling for resignations [of Dame Cressida],” Sir Iain said.
The police have also expressed that there is a lack of guidance on how to enforce coronavirus lockdown restrictions at protests. There has been a clear differential in policing styles at times against protests in favour of different causes, particularly against anti-lockdown demos and others such as the feminist gatherings and BLM marches being given a pass.
Martin Hewitt, the chairman of the Police Chiefs’ Council said: “We want clarity so commanders on the ground can make those decisions in what are always very challenging circumstances.”
A senior police source added: “There is a strong feeling in policing that the Government is throwing us under the bus. There was a strong view on Friday saying the vigil should not happen. Now they are stepping back and saying the scenes are awful.
“We need a bit more clarity on what is okay and not okay. If you want us doing that at some protests but you don’t want us doing it at other protests, are you looking for police to decide what is an acceptable protest and what is not? That’s the mess we have been in.”
A further four people were arrested last night at another protest against police brutality and the proposed curbs to protesting rights in the UK. Three were arrested for violating the lockdown regulations, while another was arrested for allegedly assaulting an emergency worker.
Demonstrators gathered in Parliament Square before marching through Central London. Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter splinter groups were both in attendance during the demonstration.
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