appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agence France-Presse

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said the death of George Floyd in the US was “inexcusable” but declined to say whether he had spoken about the issue with key ally Donald Trump.
“I think what happened in the United States was appalling, inexcusable,” Johnson told lawmakers in parliament, in his first public comment on the case.
“We all saw it on our screens and I perfectly understand people’s right to protest what took place,” he added.
“Obviously I also believe that protests should take place in a lawful and reasonable way.”


But Johnson avoided answering questions as to whether he had raised the matter with the president, as Britain eyes a post-Brexit trade deal with the US.
Floyd, an unarmed African-American, died last week after a police officer in the US city Minneapolis knelt on his neck, an incident captured on video by a witness. The officer concerned has been charged with third-degree murder.
The death has prompted waves of angry and sometimes violent protests in cities across the country and around the world.
Johnson’s comments echoed those of British police chiefs on Wednesday.
“We stand alongside all those across the globe who are appalled and horrified by the way George Floyd lost his life,” they said in a joint statement.
“Justice and accountability should follow. We are also appalled to see the violence and damage that has happened in so many US cities since then.”
The police chiefs appealed for people in Britain to “work with officers” as protests mount over Floyd’s death, just as a nationwide coronavirus lockdown is being eased.

Thousands of people chanting “no justice, no peace, no racist police” and “black lives matter” gathered in central London on Wednesday to protest against racism.
Many of the protesters wore face masks and were dressed in red. Some waved banners with slogans such as: “The UK is not innocent: less racist is still racist”, “Racism is a global issue” and “If you aren’t angry you aren’t paying attention”.
The police who stunned Americans – by taking a knee with protesters
“This has been years in the coming, years and years and years of white supremacy,” 30-year-old project manager Karen Koromah said.
“We’ve come here with our friends to sound the alarm, to make noise, to dismantle supremacist systems,” Koromah said, cautioning that unless there was action the UK would face similar problems to those in the US.
“I don’t want to start crying,” she said of the images from the US. “It makes my blood boil.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said 23 people were arrested following weekend protests over Floyd’s death in the city of Minneapolis last week.


In their statement, police chiefs said they understood “people want to make their voices heard” but appealed to them “to work with officers at this challenging time”.
“The right to lawful protest is a key part of any democracy, which UK police uphold and facilitate,” they added.
“But coronavirus remains a deadly disease and there are still restrictions in place to prevent its spread, which include not gathering outside in groups of more than six people.”
Britain has its own fraught history of racism within policing, with a landmark 1999 report finding “institutional racism” within London’s police force.
Singapore’s Ho Ching sparks social media stir with US protests post
The report was commissioned after the racist murder of a black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, at a bus stop in south London in 1993.
The police investigation was marred by a catalogue of failures that saw no one convicted until 2012.
Despite programmes of reform, a 2015 study by the Runnymede Trust, an educational charity, which aims to promote a successful multi-ethnic Britain, found “systemic and institutional racism persists” within British policing.
“Britain is no stranger to racialised police violence,” it noted.
“Black and minority ethnic people are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system at every level, from arrests to stop and search, to imprisonment, to deaths in custody.”
Additional reporting by Reuters


Minneapolis on edge after ICE agent shoots woman dead, sparking outcry

Western democracies are facing their greatest test – and it’s not AI

Hegseth grilled over Trump’s LA troop deployment, estimated to cost US$134 million

George Floyd’s uncertain legacy marked in US 5 years on

George Floyd protests

Boris Johnson says George Floyd’s death ‘inexcusable’ as UK police appalled by US violence

A ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest in London’s Hyde Park. Photo: Reuters

People wearing face masks hold banners in Hyde Park during a "Black Lives Matter" protest following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis, London, Britain, June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo: Xinhua

Donald Trump threatens to end George Floyd protests with military

US President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on Monday. Photo: EPA/Bloomberg

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 01: People gather at site where George Floyd died May 25 while in police custody, on June 1, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. George's brother Terrence Floyd visited the site today and called for justice and the prosecution of all four officers involved in the incident. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Minneapolis Police Department officers detain a group outside of a car during continued demonstrations in reaction to the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., May 31, 2020. Picture taken on May 31, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Riot police hold people back as US President Donald Trump visits St. John's Church after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US President Donald Trump was due to make a televised address to the nation on Monday after days of anti-racism protests against police brutality that have erupted into violence. The White House announced that the president would make remarks imminently after he has been criticized for not publicly addressing in the crisis in recent days. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

US President Donald Trump holds a Bible while visiting St. John's Church across from the White House after the area was cleared of people protesting the death of George Floyd June 1, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US President Donald Trump was due to make a televised address to the nation on Monday after days of anti-racism protests against police brutality that have erupted into violence. The White House announced that the president would make remarks imminently after he has been criticized for not publicly addressing in the crisis in recent days. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

George Floyd killing stirs Asian feelings on region’s own racial strife, from police custody deaths in Malaysia to Chinese privilege in Singapore

Protesters outside the New Zealand parliament in Wellington demonstrate against the killing by US police of Minneapolis man George Floyd. Photo: AFP

Photo: Instagram

epa08456483 Supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement gather to protest against the Police brutality in USA and in memory of George Floyd in London, Britain, 31 May 2020. Protesters gathered in front of the embassy to express their feelings in regard to the death of 46 year old George Floyd while in police custody. A bystander's video posted online on 25 May appeared to show George Floyd, 46, pleading with arresting officers that he couldn't breathe as an officer knelt on his neck, in Minnesota, USA. The unarmed black man later died in police custody. EPA-EFE/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Family autopsy finds George Floyd died of asphyxiation – but second report could bolster Derek Chauvin’s defence

Terrence Floyd reacts at a makeshift memorial honouring his brother George Floyd on Monday at the spot where he was taken into custody in Minneapolis. Photo: Reuters

A woman gestures as she poses for a photograph at a makeshift memorial honouring George Floyd and other minorities killed in recent years at the spot where he was killed, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

George Floyd death: African nations urge US to act over ‘ongoing racism against black people’

Moussa Faki Mahamat, head of the African Union Commission, said the bloc condemned “in the strongest terms the murder of George Floyd”. Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

News

World

Europe

United States & Canada


The British prime minister declines to say whether he had spoken about the issue with Trump
Thousands of people chant ‘no justice, no peace, no racist police’ in London to protest against racism



The British prime minister said George Floyd’s death was ‘inexcusable’, but declined to say whether he had spoken about the issue with Trump.
