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More than 100 people have been arrested after taking part in a demonstration in central London on the first night of the new coronavirus shutdown in England.
The protesters gathered as part of the Million Masks March, an annual anti-capitalist rally that this year drew a significant number of people angered by the latest wave of Covid restrictions.
Police initially struggled to control the fluid and fast-paced protest, with officers ordering participants to return home before making the arrests.
An arrested protester said she had joined the demonstration “because it is clear that the government is lying to us and it is not fair.”
The protester, in her 30s and from south London, who preferred not to be identified, said: “My business has closed again and was closed for six months. I managed to get nine weeks [of trading]. Last Thursday was the first day I felt like I was going back to how it used to be, and then on Saturday we got the news of the closure.
“I am protesting for all the people who cannot see what is happening; I am protesting for all the people who can but feel they cannot go to the protests because of the way they are portrayed; I am protesting for all the people in the nursing homes; I’m protesting for my grandmother, whom I haven’t seen for I don’t know how long; I am protesting for my children; I am protesting for humanity. “
Pursued by police, protesters played music and chanted “freedom” as they marched and at times ran through the Strand, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Circus and Soho, before a large group was finally contained by officers on Oxford Street and held there. for several hours.
Other groups were attacked by police wherever they tried to congregate, particularly in Leicester Square. As of 11 p.m., police had made 104 arrests, mostly for breaches of coronavirus regulations, Scotland Yard said.
“As soon as we left the train station it was hostile,” said the arrested protester. “We were hoping to find other people and all we saw was the police chasing people.”
Commander Jane Connors, who was in charge of the surveillance Thursday night, said the metropolitan police’s priority had been “keeping Londoners safe.” She added: “Tonight, crowds of people chose to ignore the new regulations, behave irresponsibly and meet in dangerous ways. More than 100 of these people have already been arrested and will have to face the consequences of their actions ”.
