MOUNTED police have arrived at an anti-BLM protest in London after clashes between demonstrators and officers.
Glass bottles and cans were thrown towards police officers at the protest, which was set up in order to “guard” British monuments from vandalism from anti-racist protesters.
The official Black Lives Matter demonstration was called off amid fears over clashes between activists and counter-protesters.
Confrontation of far right with mounted police in front of Mandela and Gandhi statues a few minutes ago. Imagine the scene if they were not boarded up. pic.twitter.com/dXUofcoVxJ
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) June 13, 2020
However, there are about 100 counter-protesters at Parliament Square, where statues of Churchill, Mandela and Gandhi are boarded up and the atmosphere is reportedly very tense.
Those on the scene report a much smaller number of Black Lives Matter protesters than has been seen at previous demonstrations.
The group guarding the Cenotaph have been chanting Lee Rigby’s name, the word "England" and singing God Save the Queen, according to reports from PA.
Whitehall is now blocked off by police. This happened moments ago: pic.twitter.com/RDaIAbNUUB
— Dominic Casciani (@BBCDomC) June 13, 2020
Police in London have been granted extra stop and search powers covering central parts of the city after learning people are “coming into London to cause harm” during the protests and are “likely to bring weapons”.
Responding to clips of glass bottles being thrown at police officers, Home Secretary Priti Patel called the scenes “thoroughly unacceptable thuggery”.
READ MORE: 'Statue defenders' sing God Save the Queen at London's Cenotaph
She added: “Any perpetrators of violence or vandalism should expect to face the full force of the law. Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated.
“Coronavirus remains a threat to us all. Go home to stop the spread of this virus & save lives.”
Violence against police this afternoon at Parliament square. pic.twitter.com/e9HZJHzbAK
— Vinnie O'Dowd (@VinnieoDowd) June 13, 2020
“Statue defenders” had come into the square today to prevent vandalism to boarded up British statues after graffiti was left on Churchill’s statue last weekend.
The graffiti read that the former PM “was a racist”.
All protesters in London have been told they must be off the streets by 5pm tonight.
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