Thousands took to the streets in London and other cities over the weekend, but demonstrations took a nasty turn, and several clashes with police were reported. But was Westminster right to allow such large gatherings when the country remains in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic? Chris Mendes; Leader of the Foundation party gave his views on the matter.
Sputnik: How dangerous could the large gatherings at anti-racism protests over the weekend in the UK be to public health amid the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic?
Chris Mendes: The lockdown is essentially over as much as the government would like to pretend otherwise. There has been more and more frustration about the lockdown and the rules and regulations, and there have been more and more experts and evidence that has arisen, that has shown that it is a series of measures, which to a large extent have been worse than the disease.
Other countries have experienced different responses to the virus and not locked themselves down, and not seen worse results, and I think that people are beginning to see this, and on top of that; when we are seeing mass protests, it really makes a mockery of the whole thing.
People that have had to stay away from relatives, some of whom have been in poor health, and not being able to see each other at such vital times in their lives, and they look on the television and see thousands of people gathering to protest about an incident that happened in another country.
I don't think that people are particularly impressed, and generally speaking; I think that it is time that we get back on with our lives and are let out again, without forming large crowds. There is probably still a danger there of spreading the virus, and we should avoid all crowds, but the idea that if you are unhappy, or you want to protest about an important issue is fine, but it doesn't grant you a social licence to put the health of other people at risk. I think that it makes a mockery of the lockdown, and I think that it is time that we get back to normal.
Sputnik: Is it unfair to call the UK "a racist country"?
Chris Mendes: What's happened in America is very much an issue that is an American one. It's a very historical matter with the racial tensions in their country, which persist today, but I don't think that it is anything like that in the UK.
I believe that we are one of the most tolerant and open-minded nations in the world, and I think that every single country and every single society has a small pocket of racism and discrimination, there's no doubt about that, and unfortunately, it's part of human nature, there is always going to be a small group of petty individuals with those opinions.
I don't believe that it is a prevailing issue in this country like it is in the States, and I think that it is really important to point out, that while we do have peaceful protests in this country; it is absolutely so that that is able to continue, because it is anybody's absolute civic right to do so, and it's an important part of freedom of speech.
What we have got at the moment among these protests is nothing of the sort, we have got criminality, we have got violence, we have got riots, and this is both in the UK and in the US, and we've also got a very hard left element to it too.
We also see police officers being attacked and chased and having things thrown at them, and none of this has got anything to do with protests, and I think that ultimately we have a lot of young people who just like to riot for the fun of it, it’s as simple as that, they really do.
Sputnik: Could the British police have done more to prevent violence from breaking out during last weekend's protests?
Chris Mendes: We have got very soft police in this country. We have seen a shocking display of cowardice in the face of lawbreakers; they watched as the statue came down in Bristol, and did nothing about it, they watched the Winston Churchill statue get vandalised, and did nothing.
I'm shocked and angry that we have such a soft police force in the country. We talk a lot about the inadequacy of politicians, but I think that it is time to talk about the inadequacy of police officers, because the whole point here, is that we have to get tough to deter this from happening next time.
The bottom line is that there are people out there who are getting fed up with soft, misguided police, with the wrong priorities, and I think that people in this country want a robust police force, and a robust law and order system, but sadly; I think that we have gone backwards and that we have all our work still ahead of us.