Far-right protesters clash with police in London as Priti Patel slams ‘unacceptable thuggery’

British Home Secretary Priti Patel has described violent scenes at a far-right protest in London as “thoroughly unacceptable thuggery”.

Far-right protesters have clashed with police in London after gathering in the capital to protect statues from anti-racism protests.

Right-wing activists and football fans who described themselves as patriots met in Whitehall, Westminster and in Trafalgar Square on Saturday to protect historical monuments, including the Cenotaph and a statue of Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill, from being vandalised.

Footage posted on social media showed groups chanting at police, holding ‘All Lives Matter’ signs and singing God Save the Queen on Saturday morning.

Other videos showed people throwing bottles and cans at officers, while riot police on horses pushed the crowd back.

Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First, could be seen wearing a ‘White Lives Matter’ T-shirt.

Peaceful demonstration down at Whitehall #AllLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/mJYDzEYOTX

— Rikki Doolan 🇬🇧 (@RikkiDoolan) June 13, 2020

Huge police presence on Whitehall. Full Riot gear. Not backing down. pic.twitter.com/ai3izc80s6

— Ministry of Truth (@BanTheBBC) June 13, 2020

British Home Secretary Priti Patel described the violence as “thoroughly unacceptable thuggery”, promising the perpetrators would face “the full force of the law”.

“Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated,” she said.

Ms Patel also repeated calls for protesters to “go home”, warning Britain was still in the grip of “an unprecedented national health emergency”.

“Gathering in large numbers at this exceptional time is illegal. Doing so puts everyone’s lives at risk,” she said.

Throughly unacceptable thuggery.

Any perpetrators of violence or vandalism should expect to face the full force of the law. Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated.

Coronavirus remains a threat to us all. Go home to stop the spread of this virus & save lives. https://t.co/HsOx9cgrqD

— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) June 13, 2020

A protester climbs on a pole, chanting slogans in Whitehall. Picture: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Members of a far-right group stands guard over statues in parliament Square. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP

A protester wearing a St George's Cross face mask climbs on a barrier. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

A far-right protester gestures to British police in riot gear at Trafalgar Square. Picture: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Several statues, including the Churchill statue opposite parliament and the Cenotaph, were boarded up on Thursday in preparation for a weekend of Black Lives Matter protests.

Protesters have been targeting statues for their links to racism and the slave trade.

The Cenotaph, which commemorates Britain’s war dead, was spray-painted with the letters “BLM” during a rally last week, while the statue of Churchill was vandalised with the words “was a racist”.

“I am extremely fed up with the way that the authorities have allowed two consecutive weekends of vandalism against our national monuments,” Paul Golding told the Press Association.

RELATED: Johnson says protests ‘hijacked by extremists’

Police are confronted by protesters in Whitehall near parliament Square, London. Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA via AP

A group gathers around the Winston Churchill statue on parliament Square. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Police secure the area around The Cenotaph war memorial, facing far-right demonstrators protesting against an expected Black Lives Matter demonstration. Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA via AP

Several statues in the UK have been targeted by Black Lives Matter protesters for their links to racism and the slave trade. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday urged people to stay away from rallies, saying they had been “hijacked by extremists intent on violence”.

“Whatever progress this country has made in fighting racism – and it has been huge – we all recognise that there is much more work to do,” he said.

“But it is clear that the protests have been sadly hijacked by extremists intent on violence. The attacks on the police and indiscriminate acts of violence which we have witnessed over the last week are intolerable and they are abhorrent.”

It is absurd and shameful that this national monument should today be at risk of attack by violent protestors. Yes, he sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today, but he was a hero, and he fully deserves his memorial. 2/8

— Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 12, 2020

Mr Johnson said he understood the outrage people were feeling following the death of African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis, but condemned the covering up of statues.

“We cannot now try to edit or censor our past. We cannot pretend to have a different history. The statues in our cities and towns were put up by previous generations,” he said.

“They had different perspectives, different understandings of right and wrong. But those statues teach us about our past, with all its faults. To tear them down would be to lie about our history, and impoverish the education of generations to come.”

A Black Lives Matter group in London called off a demonstration planned for Saturday, saying the presence of the counter-protesters would make it unsafe.