Several hundred people, including far-right activists, have gathered to demonstrate in central London's Parliament Square despite police warnings to stay home to contain the coronavirus.
Dozens gathered around the statue of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph war memorial, both boarded up. Officials fear far-right activists will seek confrontation with anti-racism protesters Saturday under the guise of protecting statues.
"I am extremely fed up with the way that the authorities have allowed two consecutive weekends of vandalism against our national monuments," Golding told the Press Association. In Britain, the protests have triggered a national debate about the legacy of empire and its role in the slave trade. A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was hauled from its plinth by protesters in the city of Bristol on Sunday and dumped in the harbour. In London, Churchill's statue was daubed with the words "was a racist."
Police Commander Bas Javid urged people not to gather in large groups at all because of the coronavirus. But if they must, he said activists have to stick to the planned route and be off the streets by 5 p.m. or risk arrest.
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