Protesters defy lockdown with group hug outside police headquarters

A group of protesters has been pictured having a group hug in defiance of the coronavirus lockdown as they gathered outside the Metropolitan Police’s headquarters today.

One man was arrested for failing to comply with the direction of a police constable and assault on police after around 20 activists protested restrictions on Saturday afternoon.

Some among them were anti-vaxxers, while others were conspiracy theorists who claim 5G is spreading Covid-19 – an idea that has been named ‘dangerous nonsense’ by the government.

The group gathered at Victoria embankment to hold up signs reading ‘my body, my choice’, ‘we do not consent’ and ‘no more lockdown’.

One protester is said to have shouted ‘I do not consent’ and ‘police brutality’, while another yelled ‘save lives, hug someone’.

Another was pictured being cuffed by officers, who carried him by his arms and legs to a police van.

Later on in the protest, a number of activists came together to have a large hug.

Officers encouraged the protesters to go home and the group subsequently dispersed, but one man was arrested, the Met Police said.

Under current lockdown restrictions, people are only allowed to leave their houses to go to the shops, for one form of exercise a day, for any medical need and for travelling to work if they cannot work from home.

The protest comes as the UK death toll, now the third highest in the world, passes 28,000.

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: ‘Police are aware of a small number of protesters that gathered near New Scotland Yard at 11.30am on Saturday.

‘Officers attended and engaged with the protesters and encouraged them to go home. The group subsequently dispersed.

‘One man was arrested for failing to comply with the direction of a police constable and assault on police. He has been taken into custody.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.