Anti-lockdown protesters have filled the streets of central London to demonstrate against COVID restrictions, on the day that the restrictions were lifted.
Protesters gathered in Parliament Square in Westminster, blocked roads and clashed with police. England is ploughing ahead with what the government has dubbed “freedom day” – the lifting of virtually all coronavirus-related restrictions – despite rising case loads and dire warnings from 1,200 scientists that this is “a dangerous and unethical experiment”.
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As of today there are no longer any restrictions on the number of people who can meet up in England, guidance to maintain 1-metre social distancing has been removed and face masks are no longer required in enclosed public spaces by law – although some businesses and public institutions will still require them. This has concerned many scientists who are concerned that the UK will become a “petri-dish” for new variants.
The near total lifting of restrictions was not enough to stop thousands of people turning out to protest, although it wasn’t immediately obvious what they were actually demonstrating against.
Video footage showed protesters squaring up to a police officer, pushing him and throwing bottles at him.
Other footage showed riot police jostling with protesters and pulling one man from the crowd and surrounding him while other protesters pushed back.
Protesters chanted “arrest Boris Johnson” and “shame on you” in the direction of Parliament and at the police.
Eleven people were arrested at the demonstration for a variety of offences according to the Metropolitan Police.
Protesters displayed banners with anti-vaccine conspiracy-theory slogans on them, as well as pro-Donald Trump flags.
Mark Sexton, a retired police officer, told the crowd that “the whole pandemic is a fraud”.
Prime Minister Johnson and other ministers spent “freedom day” in isolation. Over the weekend Health Secretary Sajid Javid revealed he had tested positive for coronavirus. Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak came into contact with him shortly afterwards. The pair initially said that they would not be isolating as they were taking part in a pilot scheme exempting some workers from isolating if they test negative. However they performed a quick U-turn following a backlash and said that they would isolate after all.
