The head of London’s policing union has criticised Labour mayor Sadiq Khan for failing to protect the city’s police officers by allowing what became violent protests to take place despite coronavirus lockdown measures.
The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, Ken Marsh, revealed on Sunday that a total of 62 Met police officers were injured at Black Lives Matter protests in the past week.
Criticising the London mayor for failing to show solidarity with his own police force, Mr Marsh told City A.M. on Monday: “Why didn’t he shut the Tube when he knew this was going to happen?
“Leaders at tough times like this need to lead. He’s been a great advocate for the lockdown, but when it comes to this, he’s done nothing.
“How’s that for looking after your coppers? I’m bewildered.”
This weekend alone, 49 officers were injured, some being punched and hit with projectiles, including bottles and fireworks.
‘Run Piggy Run’ – British Cops Chased Through Streets at BLM Protest https://t.co/uqdS8A6bb5
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 8, 2020
Sky News shot footage of a police officer walking alone down Whitehall with blood running down his head, with dozens of reinforcements running in the opposite direction.
Black Lives Matter extremists chased another group of officers down Whitehall, pelting them with glass bottles and garbage while yelling, “run, piggy, run” before the unarmed officers sought shelter in the grounds of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. LBC caught similar footage of police being chased past the Houses of Parliament to the calls of, “run, piggy”.
One officer fell off her horse on Saturday, suffering from a broken collar bone, a collapsed lung, and broken ribs, resulting in her being signed off work for four months. Mr Marsh confirmed that the incident occurred when a demonstrator threw a bicycle at another horse, spooking the female officer’s mount, which then broke into a gallop. The animal then flung her into a set of traffic lights before she hit the ground.
The London officers were attacked despite some of their colleagues taking the knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters.
Khan’s Red Guard: London Mayor Vows to Replace Monuments with Statues of LGBTQ+ and Minority Figures https://t.co/XgjsXs8XG2
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 9, 2020
Mr Marsh told The Times that the country was operating under two sets of rules, with one for the law-abiding and the other for the far-left protesters. He said: “We are in the middle of a pandemic killing thousands of people. My colleagues don’t have any choice to be there. Lots of them may now catch Covid-19. There are several sets of rules going on in this country right now.”
The Defund the BBC campaign’s Twitter page has gained 58,000 followers since Sunday after the taxpayer-funded broadcaster described the weekend’s protests which resulted in so much brutality against police as “largely peaceful”.
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