Anti-Lockdown Protesters Chant ‘FREEDOM’ as Dozens Arrested in London

Police in London have reportedly arrested over 60 'anti-lockdown' protestors as large demonstrations took place in the city on Saturday.

Police in London have reportedly arrested over 60 ‘anti-lockdown’ protestors as large demonstrations took place in the city on Saturday.

The London Metropolitan Police Service stated that the arrests were made for “breaching coronavirus restrictions” among other things. Protests are banned under current coronavirus rules.

Save Our Rights UK, a grassroots group, planned the protest on Saturday called Unite For Freedom – Time For Action.

A large group of protesters chanted “freedom” while carrying signs with messages reading “stop controlling us” and “no more lockdowns”.

The protest was estimated to have a several thousand demonstrators. Protests have routinely been broken up by the Metropolitan Police this past month.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police hold that protests are “not currently a permitted exemption to the prohibition on gatherings under the current coronavirus regulations”.

The director of Big Brother Watch, Silkie Carlo, says the current law is “outrageous”. “In practice, police are increasingly treating protests as banned,” she said. “The incompetence and casual authoritarianism demonstrated by the Met police here is breathtaking. The right to protest is the bedrock of any democracy. It’s clear to me that there’s a deliberate attempt to chill that right and misrepresent the law.”

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