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Arrests Made After Group Gathers In Hyde Park For Anti-Lockdown Protest

Arrests Made After Group Gathers In Hyde Park For Anti-Lockdown Protest

Police led some of the crowd away in handcuffs

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A group of protesters, including Piers Corbyn - the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy - have assembled at Hyde Park in London to protest against the lockdown measures currently in place as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Mass gatherings were planned around the country to protest against the lockdown - with some protesters believing that the virus is 'fake' and espousing anti-vaccination views.

However, the protests have largely been poorly attended, or - in the case of Leeds - not attended by anyone at all.

However, several protesters at the London demonstration have been led away in handcuffs by police, with six people arrested.

Piers Corbyn was led off by police.
PA

Those who gathered near Speaker's Corner in the London park brandished placards that bore slogans such as 'EX-VACCINATE' and 'freedom over fear' before listening to speeches from speakers such as Piers Corbyn.

Corbyn claims that the coronavirus is linked to 5G, and called the virus a 'pack of lies to brainwash you and keep you in order'.

Another protester, 50-year-old David Samson, who works in finance, told PA that he showed up to protest because 'I never thought I'd see in my generation the suppressing of civil rights' as a result of a 'fake virus'.

So far, more than 30,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the UK, second only to the USA in the world.

The Metropolitan Police told LADbible: "As of 14:00hrs on Saturday, 16 May, six people have been arrested in the Hyde Park area."

Some of the protesters carried anti-vaccination placards.
PA

Several of the protests are thought to have been organised by the UK Freedom Movement, which describes itself on Facebook as an anti-conspiracy group that is geared towards 'exposing the truth regarding global affairs'.

However, one former Labour MP has accused the organisation of being far right extremists, and run by one of the former members of hate group Britain First.

Lord John Mann, the former member for Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire, tweeted: ''The UK Freedom Movement with its so called protests is a political organisation of right wing extremists led by Jayda Fransen of Britain First.

''I have requested police and Home Secretary action to prohibit an illegal set of political rallies.''

These protests are not the first we've seen here in the UK in recent times. In fact, several arrests were made after a large crowd of anti-lockdown protesters gathered near Westminster Bridge last Sunday.

Despite the trouble in London, most other events were poorly attended.
PA

The Metropolitan Police confirmed: "A number of people were arrested and fixed penalty notices were issued.

"Officers remain in the area as they continue to work to keep the public safe."

Despite these small protests, statistics show that the vast majority of people in the UK support the lockdown measures, which were actually loosened last week to include more freedoms.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Science, UK News, Weird