UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned protesters on Friday those who cause disruption and violence will “face the full force of the law”.
Further demonstrations are set to take place in London following the death of American George Floyd – the unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis in late May after a white police officer pressed a knee to his neck.
Anti-racism protests in Britain have been predominantly peaceful, though small groups have scuffled with the police and thrown projectiles near Parliament and the prime minister’s residence in the capital.
Johnson said that anti-racism protests in the UK had been “hijacked” by a growing minority who “are using them as a pretext to attack police, to cause violence and cause damage to public property.”
He said the police had made hundreds of arrests following recent protests and they would “make many more”.
“It is not acceptable in this country to attack a police officer,” he said. “It is not acceptable to set out in a calculated way to do damage to public property, let alone to a statue of Winston Churchill.”
Boards have been put up around statues and monuments in London including the war memorial and a statue of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill ahead of expected rival demonstrations by anti-racism and far-right protesters.
Johnson has urged people not to attend such demonstrations.
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