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Thousands March In Anti-Lockdown Protest Through London

Thousands March In Anti-Lockdown Protest Through London

Protestors held placards claiming 'Covid-19 equals control' and 'This is now tyranny'

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Thousands of anti-lockdown protesters have marched through the streets of London.

Demanding 'freedom', the demonstrators marched through Hyde Park and Oxford Street and urged the UK government to bring an end to the country's lockdown measures.

Anti-lockdown campaigner Piers Corbyn, who was fined £10,000 for organising a previously rally, was part of the mass demonstration.

The 73-year-old was pictured shouting through a megaphone with his fist in the air.

Others in attendance were flanked by police and held up placards that read 'Covid-19 equals control' and 'This is now tyranny'.

PA

This comes after police cracked down on crowds of drinkers in London last night (16 October) after they took to the streets to protest against the new Tier Two lockdown measures.

Officers were seen arresting several people who refused to adhere to the 10pm curfew in Soho.

Piers Corbyn was also present at this earlier demonstration and had even urged more people to attend.

Writing on Twitter, he said: "Ignore mad Govt diktats of tiers, curfews and circuit breakers! #DrinkAgainstTheCurfew Join us Tonight, Fri 16 Oct, London, Soho, from 9.15pm on the corner of Frith St and Old Compton St for music, drinking and dancing."

Earlier this month, the UK government introduced a tiered system of lockdown measures to try and bring the pandemic under control and stop the spread of the virus.

PA

Under Tier 2, pubs and bars must close at 10pm, with businesses serving food and drink to be consumed off the premises allowed to remain open past the curfew.

Places of worship are also allowed to remain open, as are schools and universities.

The Rule of Six will also continue to apply outdoors and in private gardens, though people must not meet anyone from outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting.

Speaking about the new rules, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, the Met's lead for the Covid-19 crisis, told the Evening Standard that it was vital people cooperated with them, but warned that officers would be enforcing the measures.

He said: "This is a critical moment in London's fight against this deadly virus.

PA

"Frustratingly, we have seen a small number of dangerous and reckless breaches of the regulations and as the alert level in London increases, we are adopting our policing approach.

"Communities across London can therefore expect to see an increase in our efforts to deal with the most deliberate, harmful and flagrant breaches of regulations."

Business Minster Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News: "This is really difficult, it's a balance between effectively two harms... the harm the virus is doing and obviously the harm to the economy and also to health of having the national lockdown.

"So the local lockdowns are the best way forward. The decisions are made with a heavy heart, really hard decisions... whether it be in Liverpool with Steve Rotheram (Mayor of the Liverpool City Region) there, and I have to pay tribute to him, the work we did with him over the weekend was pretty remarkable."

Featured Image Credit: Mark Thomas/Shutterstock

Topics: Science, Coronavirus, Health