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Agence France-Presse

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the UK anti-racism protests had been “hijacked by extremists” who were attacking national monuments in an effort to “censor our past”.
“It is clear that the protests have been sadly hijacked by extremists intent on violence,” Johnson said in a statement issued on Twitter.
Police have boarded up prominent statues around London ahead of a new wave of demonstrations and rallies this weekend.
A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was hauled from its plinth by protesters in the English port city of Bristol on Sunday and dumped in the harbour.
A famous statue of Winston Churchill outside parliament was defaced last weekend during “Black Lives Matter” rallies sparked by George Floyd’s death during a police arrest in Minnesota on May 25.
Johnson called the targeting of Churchill “absurd and shameful”.
“The statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square is a permanent reminder of his achievement in saving this country – and the whole of Europe – from a fascist and racist tyranny,” said Johnson, who lists the wartime leader as one of his personal heroes.


“Yes, he sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today, but he was a hero, and he fully deserves his memorial,” Johnson wrote.
A protective plywood screen was erected late Thursday around Churchill’s statue. Authorities also fenced off the nearby Cenotaph, a memorial to Britain’s war dead.
Protesters blame Churchill for policies that led to the death of millions during famine in the Indian state of Bengal in 1943.
“We cannot now try to edit or censor our past. We cannot pretend to have a different history,” said Johnson.
“The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations.”
Colonial figures reassessed worldwide after George Floyd’s death
A “Black Lives Matter” group in London said it was calling off a planned protest on Saturday because the presence of far-right activists would make it unsafe, though some anti-racism demonstrators are still likely to gather..
Authorities have urged protesters not to gather because of the continued risk of spreading the coronavirus. Gatherings of more than six people are currently barred in England, though police have allowed previous demonstrations to take place.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was “extremely concerned that further protests in central London not only risk spreading Covid-19, but could lead to disorder, vandalism and violence.”
He said far-right groups planned to “provoke violence, and their only goal is to distract and hijack this important issue.
“Staying home and ignoring them is the best response this weekend.”
Additional reporting by Associated Press


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Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson says UK anti-racism protests ‘hijacked by extremists’

A statue of Winston Churchill outside parliament was defaced during a ‘Black Lives Matter’ rally in central London. Photo: AFP

Toppling of UK slave trader’s statue woke many to nation’s dark history

The pedestal of the toppled statue of Edward Colston in Bristol, England. Photo: AP

A demonstrator reacts infront of graffiti on a statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square during a Black Lives Matter protest in London, following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis, London, Britain, June 7, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / (COMBO) This combination of pictures created on June 07, 2020 shows This still image taken from a June 7, 2020, video courtesy of William Want (@willwantwrites) via Twitter, shows protesters pulling down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, south west England, during a demonstration organised to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. This still image taken from a June 7, 2020, video courtesy of William Want (@willwantwrites) via Twitter, shows protesters pulling down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, south west England, during a demonstration organised to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck in Minneapolis. This still image taken from a June 7, 2020,

ATTENTION EDITORS - 13 OF 54 PICTURES TO MATCH PICTURE PACKAGE "U.S. TROOPS - IRAQ WITHDRAWAL". SEARCH IRAQ-WITHDRAWAL TO SEE ALL IMAGES PXP600-653 U.S. Marine Corp Assaultman Kirk Dalrymple watches as a statue of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein falls in central Baghdad in this April 9, 2003 file photo. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic/Files (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY)

Protesters in Bristol pulled down and tipped into the harbour the bronze statue of Edward Colston. Photo: DPA

Statues of colonial figures, including Winston Churchill and Christopher Columbus, reassessed worldwide after George Floyd’s death

A vandalised statue of King Leopold II of Belgium seen in Brussels on June 10, 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE

11 June 2020, Czech Republic, Prague: A policeman stands next to a statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, on whose pedestal demonstrators have sprayed protest slogans. The death of George Floyd during a brutal police operation in the USA has triggered "Black Lives Matter" protests and demonstrations against racism and police violence and a discussion about a culture of remembrance worldwide. Photo: Michal Kamaryt/CTK/dpa

State troopers file in to secure the area around the statue as people celebrate the toppling of a Christopher Columbus statue at the Minnesota state Capitol in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday, June 10, 2020. (Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)

A statue of Belgium's King Leopold II is smeared with red paint and graffiti in Brussels, Wednesday, June 10, 2020. With the protests sweeping the world in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, King Leopold II is now increasingly seen as a stain on the nation as demonstrators demand he disappear from public view and authorities take heed. Statues of the late king have defaced in at least a half dozen cities across Belgium. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

In this image provided by Hamilton City Council, council workers remove the bronze statue of British Captain John Fane Charles Hamilton from a square in central Hamilton, New Zealand, Friday, June 12, 2020. The New Zealand city of Hamilton on Friday removed a bronze statue of the British naval officer the city is named after a man who is accused of killing indigenous Maori people in the 1860s. (Hamilton City Council via AP)

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British PM says protesters are attacking national monuments in an effort to ‘censor our past’
A statue of Churchill outside parliament was defaced last weekend during ‘Black Lives Matter’ rallies sparked by George Floyd’s death



British PM says protesters are attacking national monuments in an effort to ‘censor our past’.


Britain

Racism and other prejudice

George Floyd protests