A thug spat on a woman as she enjoyed a picnic in Hyde Park after far-right protesters clashed with police during anti-racism rallies.
A mob brandishing beer cans was filmed descending on the peaceful group of friends, who do not appear to have been involved in the protests, before shouting, kicking their picnic rug and bellowing ‘f*** off!’.
The worried friends quickly move away as bystanders come forward to defend them, and tell the mob to ‘go away’. A witness said police officers quickly arrived to disperse the crowd.
Violence erupted yesterday as far-right activists clashed with Black Lives Matter supporters and riot police in Trafalgar Square and Waterloo Station, London.
More than 100 people were arrested for offences including breach of peace, violent disorder, assault on officers, possession of an offensive weapon, possession of class A drugs, and drunk and disorder.
Boris Johnson has condemned protesters for ‘racist thuggery’ and Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said he was ‘extremely disturbed’ by the ‘completely unacceptable’ scenes on Britain’s streets.
A 28-year-old man has also been arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency after a suspected far-right protester was photographed urinating next to the memorial to PC Keith Palmer, who was stabbed to death in the 2017 Westminster terror attack.
The man on the left of this image was filmed spitting on a woman as she enjoyed a picnic in Hyde Park with friends
The group then surrounded the friends and started kicking their possessions while yelling at them to ‘get the f*** up!’
The friends left as bystanders came over to tell the mob to leave them alone
The group of at least ten men were seen walking off a footpath in Hyde Park today
The video, which has been viewed more than four million times, shows a group of at least ten men storming up to the friends sitting calmly in the sunshine.
They swarm around them and start kicking their rug and shouting. Some members of the group are heard yelling: ‘Get the f*** up!’.
The friends quickly get up and walk away as bystanders come forward to put themselves between the friends and the angry mob.
It was uploaded yesterday by Tom Norman, who said: ‘Just entered Hyde Park so did this hoard. There isn’t even a protest on for them to protest against.
‘Vile. Video blurred as I got pushed Thankfully the Met Police UK arrived and tehy ran for the hills.’
In a second tweet, he added: ‘@BorisJohnson @ConHome @pritipatel @Rishisunak @MattHancock @Conservatives you have all allowed this.
‘@BorisJohnson Your years of bigoted language has allowed this. @Nigel_Farage You lead this bigotry. Disgusting.’
The anti-racist rally and a pro-statue counter-protest descended into hooliganism driven by a hard core of violent activists on both sides. Pictured: Clashes in Trafalgar Square yesterday
A man was beaten to a bloody pulp in Trafalgar Square as the Black Lives Matter protests turned violent shortly before the 5pm curfew kicked in
The footage shows the man who spat on the woman is wearing a white shirt, brown jacket and hat.
Twitter users have condemned the group for spitting, noting that even in ordinary times this is unacceptable but during a pandemic it could amount to a ‘death sentence’.
Boris Johnson has condemned the protesters for ‘racist thuggery’, writing on Twitter: ‘Racist thuggery has no place on our streets.
‘Anyone attacking the police will be met with the full force of the law.
‘These marches and protests have been subverted by violence and breach current guidelines. Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to make that a reality.’
Police chiefs imposed the 5pm curfew on all demonstrations yesterday in a bid to quell the unrest seen throughout the day as the anti-racist rally and a pro-statue counter-protest descended into hooliganism driven by a hard core of violent activists on both sides.
While a small number of pro-statue military veterans in uniform made their point peacefully, their protest was hijacked by others intent on confronting police and BLM supporters. About an hour later, the first of several pitched battles erupted as police in riot gear tried to hold back crowds chanting ‘Eng-er-land’ and raising their arms in apparent Nazi salutes.
A man was seen involved in a confrontation between police and various demonstrators near to Waterloo Station this afternoon
The man – identified as a far-right protester- then got injured and had to be carried to safety as animosity was briefly set aside
A man, whose face was covered in blood, was seen lying on the floor near Waterloo Station in London as the protests turned violent
Time and again, the drunken mob lunged at police lines, which blocked them from moving down Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square, where some BLM supporters were gathered.
One small group of right-wingers did manage to find their way into Trafalgar Square to fight with BLM groups, but police contained the violence. Similar running battles occurred later in Hyde Park and at Waterloo station as rival groups clashed.
After the groups were driven out of Trafalgar Square at 5pm, the clashes spilled over to Waterloo station where a group of BLM activists were filmed beating a lone white man accused of being a member of a far right group.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said today that he was ‘extremely disturbed’ by the ‘completely unacceptable’ scenes of violence on the streets of London on Saturday.
Speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday show, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: ‘I want to say a particular word as well about that awful scene of someone urinating next to PC Keith Palmer’s memorial.
‘Absolutely despicable behaviour and I hope that individual is identified and brought to justice.’
Elsewhere in the country tens of thousands gathered at anti-racism protests that passed off largely peacefully although clashes also erupted in Bristol (pictured)
Police fight to maintain control in Trafalgar Square amid both Black Lives Matter and pro-statue protests in London yesterday