Boris Johnson said the anti-racism demonstrations taking place in the United Kingdom have now been “subverted by thuggery” after protesters clashed with police in London on Sunday, leaving eight officers injured.
The British prime minister’s comments come as demonstrators also spray-painted “was a racist” on a Winston Churchill monument in Parliament Square, and in Bristol, tore down the statue of a slave trader before throwing it into the harbor.
“People have a right to protest peacefully & while observing social distancing but they have no right to attack the police,” Johnson tweeted. “These demonstrations have been subverted by thuggery — and they are a betrayal of the cause they purport to serve. Those responsible will be held to account.”
Police clash with protesters during a Black Lives Matter protest rally in Westminster, London, on Sunday. (AP/PA)
The city’s mayor, meanwhile, appears to have taken the side of the protesters.
“I know the removal of the Colston Statue will divide opinion, as the statue itself has done for many years,” Marvin Rees said. “However, it’s important to listen to those who found the statue to represent an affront to humanity.”
Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
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