At least 15,000 people cram Trafalgar Square in rally against lockdown

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Anti-lockdown protesters today clashed with police after at least 15,000 demonstrators descended on Trafalgar Square as part of a rally against coronavirus measures in the UK. 

Attendees of the ‘We Do Not Consent’ rally ditched their masks as they crammed into the London square this afternoon, despite Metropolitan Police pleading with people to stick to Britain’s coronavirus restrictions.

Crowds, who were also warned that violence would not be tolerated at the gathering, carried placards reading ‘is this freedom?’ and ‘end the crazy rules’ as they flocked to central London to protest against Britain’s coronavirus restrictions.

Piers Corbyn, 73, brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, was among the crowd alongside conspiracy theorist David Icke, 68, who has made a series of false claims linking Covid-19 to 5G technology.     

Demonstrators ditched their face masks and ignored social distancing measures as they shouted ‘we will win’ and waved flags in the tourist attraction, before Metropolitan Police arrived to shut down the event as crowds ‘have not complied with the conditions of their risk assessment’.

Skirmishes broke out between protesters and police, with those in attendance chanting ‘shame on you’ and shoving at officers as they passed through the crammed crowd.  

In one moment, a woman appeared to be knocked to the ground as a struggle broke out behind her. 

In a statement, Scotland Yard said the breach had ‘put people in danger of transmitting the virus’ which voided their risk assessment and left those at the event ‘no longer exempt’ from Covid-19 restrictions.

‘We are now asking those in Trafalgar Square to leave,’ the force said. ‘Officers will be engaging with crowds and informing them of this development. By leaving now, you can keep yourself safe and avoid any enforcement action being taken by officers.’

The Met also confirmed officers had been injured ‘while engaging’ with demonstrators, some of whom opted to move to Hyde Park rather than disperse.

The rally comes as almost 18million Britons – a quarter of the population – will be living under tighter coronavirus restrictions by 6pm tomorrow, after the UK announced a record 6,874 new cases in the last 24 hours. 

Those in Leeds were banned from mixing with other households at home or in pubs, bars, restaurants and parks from midnight, as Wigan, Stockport and Blackpool also saw draconian measures brought into force. 

Households in the Welsh town of Llanelli are set to be banned from entering each other’s homes and gardens from 6pm today, with the nation’s two biggest cities of Cardiff and Swansea to follow suit in the next 24 hours. Residents will also be banned from entering or leaving the areas without a ‘reasonable excuse’. 

Britain recorded 24 deaths today in a preliminary count as the UK’s fatality number continues to creep upwards. NHS England announced 20 deaths, while three were recorded in Wales and one in Northern Ireland. None were recorded in Scotland. 

In other coronavirus developments today: 

• Scientists are considering a plan to ask everyone over the age of 45 to shield to stop the spread of Covid-19;
• Britain has been warned to expect 100 coronavirus deaths a day within the next three to four weeks;
• Government sources claimed Boris Johnson’s 10pm pubs curfew was based on ‘back of a fag packet calculations’ and ‘NOT advocated by SAGE’;
• The restrictions imposed in March could kill 75,000 in five years, including 31,000 deaths not related to Covid, according to documents submitted to SAGE; 
• Unions call for in-person university classes to be suspended as 3,000 students are placed in lockdown;
• MailOnline analysis reveals Britain’s outbreak began to surge after ‘Super Saturday’ reopening;
• Sadiq Khan calls for Londoners to be stopped from visiting friends and family. 

Today’s ‘We Do Not Consent’ rally, organised by Stop New Normal, comes just a week after a protest against mass coronavirus vaccinations, which saw more than a dozen officers injured when a ‘small minority’ targeted police. More than 32 arrests were made.     

The Metropolitan Police said it has been engaging with today’s organisers throughout the week to remind them of their legal obligations and explaining the events could be in breach of coronavirus regulations.

While protests are exempt from the rule of six, which is in force in England, those in charge must submit a risk assessment and attendees must comply with social distancing. 

Police said some organisers had done so but where this had not happened the Met will ‘increase their engagement and encourage attendees to disperse’.

They added that enforcement ‘remains a last resort but will be undertaken if required’. 

It is understood police had searched a man and confiscated a makeshift riot shield earlier in the day. 

Commander Ade Adelekan, who is leading the Met operation, said while there is ‘great frustration’ at the regulations, a large midday protest could put the health of protesters and their contacts at risk.

He said: ‘I know there is great frustration to these regulations but they have been designed to keep everyone safe from what is a lethal virus. 

‘By flagrantly gathering in large numbers and ignoring social distancing, you are putting your health and the health of your loved ones at risk.’ 

He added: ‘Last weekend it was highly disappointing to see that a small minority of demonstrators targeted officers with violence. 

‘Some 15 officers were injured during this protest, with more than 32 arrests being made during the course of the day. I will not tolerate a repeat of this behaviour this weekend and officers will respond quickly to any scenes of violence.’ 

It is estimated close to 15,000 protesters have gathered inside Trafalgar Square today, as photographs show the space nearing its 19,999-person capacity.  

The rally, which protests the government’s coronavirus lockdown measures in London, comes as close to 18million Britons will be living under tighter coronavirus restrictions by 6pm tomorrow, after the UK announced a record 6,874 new cases in the last 24 hours.  

Those in Leeds, Wigan, Stockport and Blackpool were banned from mixing with other households at midnight yesterday, while households in the in the Welsh town of Llanelli are set to be banned from entering each other’s homes and gardens from 6pm today.

The nation’s two largest cities, Cardiff and Swansea, will follow suit in the next 24 hours. Residents will also be banned from entering or leaving the areas without a ‘reasonable excuse’. 

It comes after lockdowns were already imposed in large swathes of the North East and North West of England.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there had been an ‘acceleration of Covid-19 cases across the country, especially in the North West and the North East’. 

‘Working alongside our scientific and public health experts and local leaders, we are prepared to take swift and decisive action to reduce transmission of the virus and protect communities,’ he said. ‘I recognise the burden and impact these additional measures have on our daily lives but we must act collectively and quickly to bring down infections.’ 

It was also revealed today that top scientists advising the Government on coronavirus measures have considered a plan to ask everyone over the age of 45 to shield. 

It was suggested those over 45 were at greater risk from the virus, and more likely to die from it, so could be ‘segmented’ from the rest of the population. The suggestion, revealed in papers from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), was eventually advised against, as it was considered unlikely to be successful.  

However, it is being kept under review, and news of it follows a similar option drawn up by officials to potentially target over-50s with another lockdown.   

The minutes of the 48th meeting of the Sage scientists, held on July 23, state: ‘Although under-45s are at less risk from Covid-19, including lower risk of death, they are nonetheless at some risk and long-term sequelae (consequences) are not well understood.’

The document adds: ‘Around two-thirds of people in the UK live in a household which includes one or more individuals aged 45 and above. Any segmentation based on this age threshold would therefore affect most households.’

The ‘segmentation’ looked at would have involved those over 45 shielding, which early in the pandemic meant staying at home, and avoiding unnecessary contact with others.   

Minutes from July 16 note there is likely to be ‘merit’ in segmenting society by age, particularly ‘to vulnerable people and those likely to have more contact with vulnerable people’.

It continues: ‘Data shows that people tend to have more contacts with others around their own age, but also have a significant number of contacts with those 20-30 years older and younger than themselves (likely to mainly be contacts between parents and children). 

‘There are also significant levels of contact between grandparents and children.’ 

Figures reveal that children and those aged below 45 are at far lower risk of dying from coronavirus than those aged over 75.

Office for National Statistics data reveals only four Covid-19 deaths were recorded in children aged one to 14 years old in England and Wales, or less than 0.01 per cent of the total. And 574 have been recorded in those aged 15 to 44, or 0.96 per cent of the total.

In comparison, 39,058 people aged 75 and over have died from the virus, or 65 per cent of the total.

The difference led a scientific paper published in Nature in July to conclude that those aged 80 and over are more than a hundred times more likely to die from the virus than patients aged 40 and below.

Despite the gap in risk of death, however, there have been warnings over long Covid, or where symptoms persist after the disease subsides, which could already affect more than 60,000 people in the UK. 

Also today, Professor Graham Medley, who sits on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), warned Britain could be struck with 100 deaths a day in three to four weeks.

He arrived at the figure assuming a virus death rate of one per cent and 10,000 new infections being reported every day, adding the triple-figure toll was ‘inevitable’ as the virus remains dangerous to the community. 

‘Even if (the death rate) is 0.8 per cent, which I think would be a great success in terms of treatment, it still means that we are going to see deaths increase,’ he told BBC Radio 4.  

At the height of the pandemic between April 2 and 18 Britain was recording in excess of 800 deaths a day, while recording around 4,000 positive cases a day.

But testing capacity was far behind demand, meaning the vast majority of cases were missed. The Covid Symptom Study app, which has 4.2million contributors, has suggested that at this time there were as many as 100,000 new infections a day – pointing to a death rate of 0.8 per cent.

The World Health Organisation says the death rate from coronavirus stands between 0.5 and one per cent, based on available data.  

Health chiefs are reportedly mulling over plans to make facemasks compulsory in most places of work, in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. Office workers are expected to be exempt from the measures when sitting, but will be required to wear a mask when in corridors, lifts or communal areas. 

As cases continue to mount London has been placed on the national lockdown watchlist because of a spike in cases and hospital admissions, as the capital’s R rate ticks up to between 1.2 and 1.5 – the same level seen in the North West, North East and the Midlands, which have all been stung by additional Covid-19 measures.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has already called for a ban on people mixing in each other’s households, claiming in a conversation with the Prime Minister that ‘if you go too late, we will be in a North East, North West, Birmingham-type situation’.

Around 1,700 students in Manchester have been ordered into isolation after 127 tested positive for the virus at the Birley campus and Cambridge Halls at Manchester Metropolitan University, as the rate of spread in the city climbs to 185.6 per 100,000 from 93.2 a week ago. 

Number 10‘s expert panel SAGE also warned the reproductive rate of the virus may be as high as that for the UK overall. It is the advisory body’s highest projection since it began tracking how quickly the disease was growing back in June and is slightly up on last week’s estimate of 1.1 – 1.4.

If the R rate – the number of people each infected patient passes the disease on to – remains above one, then the outbreak will continue to grow and cases will keep surging, running the risk that local Covid-19 outbreaks spiral out of control into regional and even national problems.  

Mr Hancock said the strict lockdown measures are in line with those seen in Leicester, where they have successfully quelled a surge in cases, and the West Midlands.

‘This will be difficult news for the people living in these areas, profoundly affecting their daily lives,’ he said. ‘These decisions are not taken lightly, and such measures will be kept under review and in place no longer than they are necessary.’

The tightened restrictions come after a surge in cases in the areas. The latest seven-day Covid-19 rate in Leeds was found to be 113.3 per 100,000 people, according to Government figures, while Leeds director of public health Victoria Eaton said there was an 8.4 per cent positive test rate.

The seven-day rolling average in Blackpool has risen from 48.8 per 100,000 a week ago to 69.6 per 100,000 on Friday, the Government’s coronavirus dashboard shows. The rate in Wigan has risen to 122.6 per 100,000 people, while in Stockport it is up to 77.4 per 100,000 people.

On Thursday, Cardiff Council leader Huw Thomas said the capital had seen 38.2 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people over the past five days. Swansea’s rate is 49.8.

Over the past seven days Cardiff’s positivity rate has hit 3.8 per cent, exceeding the Welsh Government’s ‘amber’ threshold of 2.5 per cent – part of its ‘traffic light road map’ strategy for managing the pandemic.