Three arrested and three officers injured at anti-lockdown protests in London
SMA NEWS – LONDON
Hundreds of tennis balls, some bearing messages, launched at the Houses of Parliament to chants of ‘shame on you’
Police arrested three people and three officers were injured during anti-lockdown protests on Saturday that saw thousands descend on central London and hundreds of tennis balls launched at the Houses of Parliament.
The Metropolitan police said three people were arrested at the protests – for breach of the peace and assault on police, plus one was already wanted for a previous assault – and three officers suffered minor injuries.
Thousands of protesters – many not wearing masks and carrying anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine placards – marched through London towards Parliament Square.
They threw hundreds of tennis balls, some bearing messages, over the fences around the Houses of Parliament and let off flares and threw tennis balls outside Downing Street to chants of “shame on you” and boos directed at No 10.
Meanwhile, in Hyde Park, officers were photographed trying to remove anti-vaccine stickers from their vans.
Iain McCausland, who travelled to London from Devon for the protest, said: “The main reason I’m here is because I feel this lockdown has come at the cost of our liberty and rights. Our freedom to assemble, our freedom to travel and work. I’m really quite angry with the government, so are everyone here.”
Kayleigh Brooke vowed to continue protesting until the government’s sweeping emergency powers to handle the pandemic are removed. “We want the Coronavirus Act 2020 gone, and we will keep on protesting until that happens,” she said.
