Black Lives Matter protests in London have descended into serious violence on Whitehall, with flares and missiles thrown at police, mounted police charging, and at least one officer unhorsed.
Protesters, who were asked not to attend the illegal gatherings by both the Health Secretary and the Home Secretary due to the risk of spreading the Chinese coronavirus, initially contented themselves with merely vandalising the statues of Sir Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln.
As the thousands-strong demonstration moved to Whitehall, adjacent to the gates to the Prime Minister’s official residence on Downing Street and home to the Cenotaph and many important government buildings, however, the situation became more tense, with activists hurling missiles at officers amid driving rain.
BREAKING: Protesters have clashed with police in central London during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd.@skymarkwhite has the latest.
Follow live updates: https://t.co/nOxuGqYauQ pic.twitter.com/5IUJ5UrGzQ
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) June 6, 2020
Listen to them celebrate as they knock an officer from his horse. The radical left, by making false comparisons between the US and the UK, has unleashed hell upon innocent British officers. Our officers get up each morning to keep us all safe, @pritipatel this cannot go on here. pic.twitter.com/OtQpwhI6UN
— Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes_) June 6, 2020
Mounted police officers attempted to regain control of the area by staging a charge in which at least one officer was unhorsed, with dramatic footage showing his mount bolting riderless down the street.
The fallen officer’s condition is unknown, but pictures from the scene show them on the ground seemingly unconscious, with eyes glazed.
Riot police appeared to make some progress in driving back activists after this, but the situation remains tense, with the police horses unnerved by individuals who hurled flares towards them.
This story is developing…
Mounted police officers charge their horses along Whitehall, past the entrance to Downing Street, in an attempt to disperse protestors gathered in central London on June 6, 2020, during a demonstration to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Mounted police officers charge their horses along Whitehall, past the entrance to Downing Street, in an attempt to disperse protestors gathered in central London on June 6, 2020, during a demonstration to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Mounted police officers charge their horses along Whitehall, past the entrance to Downing Street, in an attempt to disperse protestors gathered in central London on June 6, 2020, during a demonstration to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
A mounted police officer raises their baton as police horses ride along Whitehall, past the entrance to Downing Street, in an attempt to disperse protestors gathered in central London on June 6, 2020, during a demonstration to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
A mounted police officer lays on the road after being unseated from their horse, during a demonstration on Whitehall, near the entrance to Downing Street in central London on June 6, 2020, to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
A mounted police officer lays on the road after being unseated from their horse, during a demonstration on Whitehall, near the entrance to Downing Street in central London on June 6, 2020, to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
A mounted police officer lays on the road after being unseated from their horse, during a demonstration on Whitehall, near the entrance to Downing Street in central London on June 6, 2020, to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
A demonstrator points towards a mounted police officer laying in the road after being unseated from their horse, during a demonstration on Whitehall, near the entrance to Downing Street in central London on June 6, 2020, to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
Police officers in riot gear form a line in front of protestors on Whitehall, near to Downing Street, in central London on June 6, 2020, during a demonstration to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. – The United States braced Friday for massive weekend protests against racism and police brutality, as outrage soared over the latest law enforcement abuses against demonstrators that were caught on camera. With protests over last week’s police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, surging into a second weekend, President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy by saying it was a “great day” for Floyd. (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
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