Massive crowds gathered in central London on Saturday to protest lockdown measures designed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, and police followed through on their promise to arrest demonstrators, leading to multiple clashes.
Ahead of the protest, Metropolitan Police released a statement warning anyone planning to travel to King’s Cross that current lockdown measures do not permit massive crowds.
“Ahead of a planned protest on Saturday, 28 November, the Met is urgently reminding those looking to attend that protest is not currently a permitted exemption to the prohibition on gatherings under the current Coronavirus regulations,” they said.
Anyone gathered, they warned, “risks enforcement action by officers.”
Police revealed later on Saturday that scuffles with protesters led to 155 arrests, many for breaching coronavirus restrictions.
Footage from the event showed officers clashing with and arresting protesters, many of whom were not wearing masks. Officers would at times create a wall as arrests were being made to prevent other protesters from getting closer.
Crowds chanted “freedom” as they marched through the streets, hurling profanities at officers. Some demonstrators carried signs with messages such as, “no more lockdowns” and “stop controlling us.”
Marchers at one point managed to break through a line of police officers in the street attempting to prevent the crowd from moving forward, and warning them to disperse.
The UK’s second major lockdown is due to end on Wednesday, December 2. However, this lockdown will be replaced by a tier system where regions will be graded based on their risk level, which critics have argued could essentially end up being an extension of lockdown for large numbers of citizens, as many areas will be deemed ‘high’ risk and face continued restrictions.
There have been nearly 1.6 million Covid-19 cases in the UK, as well as more than 57,000 deaths.
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