UK George Floyd protests: Police and demonstrators clash outside Downing Street as thousands across UK join Black Lives Matter march

Thousands of people gathered in UK cities to stand against racism and demand change after the death of George Floyd in US police custody.

Demonstrators filled London‘s Parliament Square holding placards reading “black lives matter“, “white silence is violence” and “the UK is not innocent”, while thousands also turned out across Cardiff, Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield, Leicester, Bath and Birmingham.

Government ministers urged people not to gather in large groups to protest, with police warning that protests could be unlawful under coronavirus lockdown rules. The demonstrations were largely peaceful apart from a clash between protesters and police near Downing Street on Saturday evening which saw a police officer knocked from a horse and graffiti daubed on the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

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