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UK news live: BLM counter-protesters clash with police as thousands gather in London
UK protests: BLM counter-demonstrators clash with London police – live
(32 minutes later)
Home secretary advises people not to attend protests during coronavirus crisis. Follow the latest updates
Far-right activists among those gathered in Parliament Square around boarded up statues. Follow the latest updates
This is from the shadow home office minister Jess Phillips
Public Health Wales said a further six people have died after testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total there to 1,441.
A very important point raised by the BBC’s Lewis Goodall.
The Black Lives Matter protest was called off amid fears of clashes with right-wing counter-protesters, who have been clashing violently with police for the last few hours.
Back in central London, demonstrators have clashed with police close to Westminster Bridge, with glass bottles thrown towards the officers and their vans, PA Media reports.
At least one officer had a baton held up towards the protesters who are chanting “You let your country down”, towards them.
Other protesters in Parliament Square have marched towards the boarded-up monument of Churchill.
Singing Rule Britannia and the national anthem, some had started banging on the sides of the covering.
This is from LBC’s EJ Ward
A total of 2,447 patients have died in Scotland after testing positive for coronavirus, up by five from 2,442 on Friday, the Scottish government has announced.
New statistics show that 15,730 people have tested positive for the virus there, up by 21 from 15,709 the previous day.
There are 983 people in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19, a rise of 69 in 24 hours. Of these patients, 20 were in intensive care, down by one from the previous day.
More than 1,000 protesters have gathered in Brighton to stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter demonstrations worldwide.
Forming a mile-long line along the seafront, activists wearing black clothes and masks and holding signs held a silent protest on Saturday afternoon.
Observing social distancing where possible, the Brighton protesters joined together in applause in the balmy sun.
Ahead of the silent protest, organiser Ellie Ruewell said to those planning to attend:
Protesters held signs calling out racism and prejudice, with one saying:
Another echoed the phrase chanted across the world:
The demonstration was watched over by Sussex Police, with officers on foot and motorcycle seen at the edges of the crowd.
Many of the protesters were later expected to join a separate event, marching through the streets of the East Sussex city.
Several hundred people have gathered at the Cenotaph in Bristol city centre, PA Media reports.
Protesters held up ‘All Lives Matter’ banners, but denied they were far-right supporters.
One read:
Among those gathered was a large contingent of bikers who parked their motorbikes next to the war memorial.Video posted on social media showed several protesters removing the Black Lives Matter placards which had been left at the plinth where the Edward Colston statue stood until last weekend when it was pulled down and dumped in Bristol Harbour.
There was a large police presence in the centre of Bristol watching thos gathered, although from a distance. Among the dozens of police on duty were dog handlers and mounted officers.
The gathering comes six days after a Black Lives Matter demonstration in the city saw the statue of slave trader Colston torn down.
As we’ve been reporting, thousands of counter-protesters, including far right activists, have descended on central London in spite of police and government warnings to stay away amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A Black Lives Matter demonstration planned for today was brought forward over fears there would be clashes with far right groups, and organisers urged people not to stage anti-racism rallies this weekend.
However, people watching the events unfold are unsure about what the counter-protestors are trying to achieve. It has been pointed out that they claim to want to ‘defend’ symbols of British history, yet they are violently clashing with police officers who are there to, er, protect the monuments.
Then there is video footage which appears to show demonstrators ‘defending’ Churchill’s statue and the Cenotaph by performing Nazi salutes whilst chanting “Eng-er-land”. This, again, is very confusing.
These are from Hope Not Hate
These are from Hope Not Hate
From the BBC’s Dominic Casciani
From the BBC’s Dominic Casciani
In Parliament Square, several thousand mainly white protesters milled around, many of them drinking. Many police present were equipped with riot gear, but they carried their helmets rather than wearing them.
The atmosphere was rowdy, with rumours of the arrival of “Anteefa” met with a surge towards the Victoria Street corner of the square and a face-off with police.
Protesters hurled cans and a smoke canister at mounted police, who were initially pushed back but then advanced again to regain their previous positions. The incident passed without serious violence erupting, but police began strengthening their positions around the square.
One protester told the Guardian that Antifa counter-protesters had made appearances a couple of times already at the demonstration. Protesters could be overheard asking each other: “where are Antifa?” and speculating over whether antifascist counter-protesters would arrive.
Earlier, on Parliament Street, at the opposite corner of the square, hundreds standing at a police line chanted “En-ger-land” and sang God Save the Queen. They broke into applause when a parade of veterans arrived, passing behind the police line carrying a flag with regimental colours.
In the square, several statues, including those of Winston Churchill and Gandhi, had been boarded off. On the statue of Churchill, someone had stuck up a poster with a silhouette of a second world war soldier and a message that read: “Do not destroy our history. Keep our history and learn from it so the same mistakes don’t happen again.”
According to Hope Not Hate, a press photographer suffered a broken nose in a confrontation with some protesters. Video on the antiracist group’s Twitter feed showed him being led away by police. The Guardian chose not to engage directly with protesters and ask for interviews.
The shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, hascondemned those “who seem intent on causing violence and division” and called scenes of violence against police officers “completely unacceptable”.
Police on horseback are pushing demonstrators back from the other end of Parliament Square, near the boarded-up statues of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi, PA Media reports.
Many of the protesters began running towards the other end of the square.
Several bottles and cans were thrown at the officers, and a device emitted dark smoke into the crowd. Some of the demonstrators are blocking others in their group from the police horses.
From LBC’s Matthew Thompson
From JOE’s Oli Dugmore
This is from Dan Sabbagh
The home secretary, Priti Patel, has called acts of violence towards the police by counter-protesters “unacceptable thuggery” and said perpetrators “should expect to feel the full force of the law”.
Video footage shows counter-protesters drinking alcohol, chanting “England, England, England” and throwing glass bottles at officers blockading Whitehall.
The BBC’s Dominic Casciani reports that the Met police have imposed a Section 60 power, which allows officers greater use of stop-and-search powers.
Police on horseback and with shields and helmets have arrived at the counter-protest in London, PA Media reports.
Around 100 protesters have returned to the barrier manned by officers near the Cenotaph, chanting Lee Rigby’s name and singing the national anthem.
Cans and glass bottles, including a large vodka bottle, have been thrown towards officers.
Demonstrators have gathered in Newcastle city centre in a second show of solidarity with the global Black Lives Matter movement.
Activists from Stand Up To Racism North East urged protesters to observe physical distancing and wear face coverings during the demonstration.
A counter-protest by Defenders of Newcastle also gathered in the city centre, where there is a heavy police presence this afternoon.
At Hyde Park on Saturday morning it looked as if most Black Lives Matter protesters had heeded calls to stay away from central London, with just a few antifascists present and two stalls run by the Socialist party selling news papers.
The London Antifascist Assembly (LARAF), a group that has rallied to oppose nearly all rightwing mobilisations in London in recent years, became the latest group to call off its protest late on Friday night, and encouraged its supporters to attend local BLM protests instead.
The decision to call off the rally came after a crackdown by the Metropolitan police on would-be protesters. Officers visited some people at their homes by police, the Guardian was told. Three protesters affiliated with green anarchist groups were arrested at Friday’s BLM rally in Hyde Park and police also raided a squatted anarchist social centre in Islington on Friday night, according to the anarchist newspaper Freedom.
