U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel is seeking an emergency ban on all protests after the nation’s largest police force condemned the “mindless hooliganism” and violence incited against its officers by far-right activists in London.
The head of the body representing officers in England and Wales called for tougher restrictions on demonstrations after 23 officers were injured and more than 100 people were arrested during rallies on Saturday, the Guardian reported Sunday.
“I urge the home secretary to be unequivocal in her terms that whilst we are under the threat of this virus, any large gathering or protest must be banned,” said John Apter, the chairman of the Police Federation for England and Wales.
Confrontations in Britain have unfolded between anti-racism protesters and “statue defenders” organized by far-right groups.
The Metropolitan Police said its officers were injured after being kicked, punched, or hit by projectiles in clashes with angry protesters claiming they were protecting statues in central London. Police arrested 113 people, including a 28-year-old man detained on suspicion of urinating by a Westminster memorial dedicated to a murdered police officer.
Protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minneapolis police custody last month have taken place worldwide. In some cases, demonstrations devolved into riots that have included the defacing and vandalizing of statues of figures associated with historic oppression and racism.
