Churchill statue and the Cenotaph: London monuments boarded up ahead of protests
London’s iconic statue of Sir Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph have been boarded up as fears of violence grow over Black Lives Matter protests set to take place this weekend.
Protective fences were placed around both memorials overnight as officials anticipate they could become hotspots for clashes between protesters during demonstrations this weekend.
London mayor Sadiq Khan today added that “key statues” including one of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi will also be covered.
It comes as far-right movement the Democratic Football Lads Alliance called on members around the UK to head to the capital to “protect” the statues from midday tomorrow. Former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson — real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — expressed his support for the move.
Khan today urged the public to stay at home, with crowds expected after the boarding up of the Churchill statue, the Cenotaph, and other monuments.
He added he was “extremely concerned” that far-right groups which “advocate hate and division” could cause unrest. “Be in no doubt, these counter-protests are there to provoke violence,” he said.
Police will take to the streets “fully kitted up” in riot gear, said Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police. “There’s an awful lot of preparation going on,” he added. “We have got the perfect storm ahead of us this weekend — we have got planned protests and now Tommy Robinson and his agitators.”
Police today said they have amped up protection measures in the capital amid security fears.
Members of the public caught vandalising, causing criminal damage or assaulting police officers will be rapidly processed through magistrates’ courts with extended opening hours, The Times reported.
Justice secretary Robert Buckland and home secretary Priti Patel are said to have drawn up plans based on the response to the 2011 London riots.
It comes after protests last weekend, sparked by the death of unarmed black man George Floyd by a US policeman, saw clashes between protests and police in London. Protestors graffitied the statue of Churchill, and tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol.
Johnson denounced the moves today, writing on Twitter: “The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square is a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country — and the whole of Europe — from a fascist and racist tyranny.”
“We cannot now try to edit or censor our past. We cannot pretend to have a different history. The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations,” he added.
The BBC reported that a statue of Jamaican poet Alfred Fagon was damaged yesterday after a “corrosive substance” was poured on it.
But the escalation of tensions has caused many protestors to abandon demonstration plans. A Black Lives Matter protest due to take place in Hyde Park at 1pm tomorrow has been cancelled after organisers warned that they might be targeted by “hate groups”. A similar event scheduled for this afternoon will still go ahead.
“We want the protests to be a safe space for people to attend,” the activist group said in an Instagram post. “However, we don’t think it will be possible with people like them present.”
Violence was not the only concern for the protests, after politicians voiced fears that large groups of people might risk spreading coronavirus.
Nickie Aiken, MP for Cities of London and Westminster, told City PM “Whilst I support the right to peaceful protest I would urge anyone thinking of doing so this weekend to seriously consider the consequences while we fight the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Now is the time that we stand together against racism and all forms of prejudice but also to support those working tirelessly in the NHS to save lives,” she added.