Nearly 200 people have been arrested for breaching coronavirus rules after taking part in a demonstration in central London on the first night of the new lockdown in England.
Protesters gathered as part of the Million Mask March, an annual anti-authoritarian demonstration that this year attracted a significant number of people angry about the latest wave of Covid restrictions.
Police initially struggled to control the fluid, fast-paced protest, with officers ordering those taking part to return home, and snatching some protesters from the crowd, wrestling them to the floor and arresting them.
One arrested protester said she had joined the demonstration “because it’s clear the government is lying to us and it’s not fair”.
The protester, in her 30s and from south London, who preferred not to be named, said: “My business has closed again and it was closed for six months. I managed to get nine weeks [of trading]. Last Thursday was the first day that I felt it was getting back to how it used to be, and then Saturday we got the lockdown news.
“I’m protesting for all the people who can’t see what’s going on; I’m protesting for all the people who can but feel that they can’t go to protests because of the way that they are portrayed; I’m protesting for all the people in the care homes; I’m protesting for my nan, who I haven’t seen for I don’t know how long; I’m protesting for my children; I’m protesting for humanity.”
Pursued by police, the protesters played music and chanted “freedom” as they marched and sometimes ran through the Strand, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Circus and Soho, before a large group was finally contained by officers on Oxford Street and kept there for several hours.
Other groups were tackled by the police wherever they tried to congregate, particularly in Leicester Square. On Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan police said its officers had made 190 arrests for breaching coronavirus legislation. Of those arrested, 189 of were being investigated for a fixed-penalty notice and one was being investigated for a £10,000 fine.
“As soon as we got out of the train station it was hostile,” the arrested protester said. “We were waiting to find other people and all we saw was just police chasing people.” She said she ran on about six occasions in an attempt to avoid arrest, but kept losing her companions and having to stop to find them. Finally she was wrestled to the ground, pinned down and arrested.
Also among those arrested was Piers Corbyn, who has emerged as a figurehead of the anti-lockdown movement and has been arrested at least four times at protests this year. A statement on his Facebook group said he was being held at Lewisham police station.
DAC Matt Twist, said there was no excuse for breaching coronavirus regulations. He said a post-incident plan was in place to investigate those arrested.
“A significant policing plan was in place last night and officers moved swiftly to speak with those who were intending to gather,” Twist said. “Officers explained very clearly the regulations and unfortunately a number of people took deliberate steps to ignore the direction. Because of this, firm action was taken and a large number of arrests were made. We will not tolerate these dangerous breaches of the regulations.”
