London mayor candidate insists George Floyd protests 'absolutely need to go ahead' despite ministers' lockdown pleas

The Tory hopeful broke with ministers' pleas for the anti-racism protests to be axed due to lockdown rules
Ewan Somerville6 June 2020

Tension over George Floyd’s death could be “bottled up” and boil over into violence if anti-racism protests planned for this weekend are cancelled because of social distancing, the Conservative London mayoral candidate has said.

Shaun Bailey broke with the pleas from Cabinet ministers for protesters to stick by lockdown rules, insisting they “absolutely need to go ahead”.

Home Secretary Priti Patel redoubled her plea for organisers to abandon the planned protests in cities across the UK on Saturday morning.

She told Sky News: “I completely understand people’s desire to express their views and have that right to protest, but the fact of the matter is we are in a health pandemic across the United Kingdom and coronavirus is a deadly virus.

“I would say to those who want to protest - please don’t. The regulations are very clear in terms of mass gatherings; we must put public health first and this particular time.”

Shaun Bailey, Conservative Mayoral Candidate photographed in Westminster
Adrian Lourie

It came after Matt Hancock issued his first explicit plea to the protesters, saying that while he was “appalled” by the unarmed African American’s death, coronavirus remains a “real threat”.

Thousands are expected to descend on Parliament Square this afternoon in solidarity with Black Lives Matter after crowds packed out Hyde Park on Wednesday.

Mr Floyd, 46, died in police custody in Minneapolis last week after white officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with second-degree murder, was filmed kneeling on his neck for nine minutes.

Mr Bailey, the Tories’ hopeful to take on Sadiq Khan at next year’s mayoral election, insisted stopping the demonstrators would only “store up trouble for the summer”.

Hundreds are flocking to Parliament Square in London this weekend
REUTERS

"So in some sense, they absolutely need to go ahead, but it must be done with social distancing and must be done as safely as possible,” he told Sky News.

"People must wear masks - and if you have already been on a protest, please think of it as having already had your go and stay away, and let people express themselves so we can move past this point.”

A senior Met Police officer joined ministers’ calls to discourage the protests on Friday, saying the “health protections are really clear that it is unlawful”.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said those who go out should follow social distancing.