Tens of thousands join Black Lives Matter protest in London

Tens of thousands took to the streets of London on Sunday, rallying for a second day running to condemn police brutality after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, with some wearing face masks bearing the slogan “Racism is a virus”.  

On Saturday, thousands gathered in central London in a demonstration that was peaceful but ended with small numbers of people clashing with mounted police near Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street residence.  

London police chief Cressida Dick said 27 officers had been injured in “shocking and completely unacceptable” assaults during anti-racism protests over the past week, including 14 on Saturday. Two were seriously hurt and an officer who fell from her horse underwent surgery.  

Authorities had urged protesters not to gather in London again on Sunday, warning they risked spreading COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. But demonstrators still packed the road outside the U.S. Embassy on the south bank of the River Thames.   Protesters later marched across the river towards parliament and Downing Street, pausing on the bridge to go down on one knee and chant: “Justice, now!” In Parliament Square, many attached their placards to the railings outside parliament.  
REUTERS, 
08TH JUNE, 2020