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Johnson says Black Lives Matter protests "hijacked by extremists"

The UK Prime Minister has said it is “absurd and wrong” that authorities have had to protect ...
Michael Staines
Michael Staines

17.38 12 Jun 2020


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Johnson says Black Lives Matte...

Johnson says Black Lives Matter protests "hijacked by extremists"

Michael Staines
Michael Staines

17.38 12 Jun 2020


Share this article


The UK Prime Minister has said it is “absurd and wrong” that authorities have had to protect statues of Winston Churchill “for fear of violent attack.”

A protective covering has been erected around a statue of the former British leader in Parliament Square in London ahead of planned Black Lives Matter protests this weekend.

Speaking this morning, Boris Johnson urged people not to support the protests, which he said have been “hijacked by extremists intent on violence.”

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“We should not support a demonstration that is, in all probability, looking at what has happened before, going to end in deliberate and calculated violence,” he said.

Churchill protests Protesters gather around the Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square in London during the Black Lives Matter protests, 07-06-2020. Image: Frank Augstein/AP/Press Association Images

He said a “growing minority” were using the protests as pretext to “attack the police, to cause violence and to cause damage to public property.”

“The statue of Winston Churchill, who is a national hero, has had to be boarded up for fear of violent attack and that to me is both absurd and wrong,” he said.

It comes after he said on twitter that the statue is “a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country – and the whole of Europe – from a fascist and racist tyranny.”


There have been many monuments to Winston Churchill erected around the UK to honour his leadership in opposing the Nazis; however, he is also known for his racist views.

The Parliament Statue was boarded up this week after someone spray-painted “Churchill was a racist” across it.


Mr Johnson said he understands the “legitimate feelings of outrage” at the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota and the “legitimate desire to protest against discrimination” but said the protests had been “sadly hijacked by extremists intent on violence.”

He said any protesters involved in violence would be arrested in the coming weeks and “will face the full force of the law.”

“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 so that is the approach we will take.”

Churchill protests The boarded-up Winston Churchill statue in London, 12-06-2020. Image: SOPA Images/SIPA USA/PA Images

The UK has also removed a number of other monuments from public view this weekend.

One of slave owner Robert Milligan has been removed from outside the Museum of London while those of slavers Thomas Guy and Sir Robert Clayton have been removed from two hospitals in the city.


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