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| A policewoman walks in front of a boarded up statue of Winston Churchill being ‘guarded’ by a veteran ahead of a Black Lives Matter protest |
A 28-year old man has been arrested on suspicion of urinating on the memorial of a murdered policeman during protests in central London on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said.
The man is in custody in Essex, east of London, after presenting himself at a police station, the police said.
Counter-protesters clashed in London on Saturday with anti-racist demonstrators with police trying to keep the two sides apart.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the violence, saying “racist thuggery has no place on our streets”.
The Westminster memorial honours PC Keith Palmer who was murdered while on duty at the Houses of Parliament during an attack in 2017 in which four other people were also killed.
Met Police Commander Bas Javid said on Saturday: “We are aware of a disgusting and abhorrent image circulating on social media of a man appearing to urinate on a memorial to PC Palmer.
“I feel for PC Palmer’s family, friends and colleagues. We have immediately launched an investigation, and will gather all the evidence available to us and take appropriate action.”
A week previously dozens of police officers were injured and more than 100 people were arrested during protests by anti-racism demonstrators following the death of George Floyd in the US at the hands of police.
A statue of Winston Churchill on Parliament Square in London was sprayed with graffiti and in Bristol in western England, the anti-racist protesters toppled a statue of 17th Century slave trader Edward Colston.
REUTERS
