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1 month ago
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A Metropolitan Police officer has been filmed repeatedly punching a man in the face as a snatch squad moved in on London protests following the Southport attacks, with 111 people now arrested.
Footage widely shared online appeared to show an officer hitting a demonstrator in central London as crowds gathered in response to the Southport stabbings near Liverpool.
Police waded in before punching the man who was also kneed as he fell to the ground during the ugly scenes near Whitehall last night.
A clip has been posted on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: 'Shocking footage shows Metropolitan Police walking up to a protester, minding his own business, and then violently punches him in the face and tackles him to the ground.'
It comes as a 17-year-old man accused of the Southport stabbings on Monday appeared in court and was publicly named for the first time.
Footage has been shared online of clashes involving police and protester in central London
A widely-shared clip showed a Metropolitan Police officer punching a man in the face
The man was forced to the ground as officers intervened near Whitehall on Wednesday night
The footage emerged as police revealed 111 people had been arrested following the protest
Crowds had gathered in London and elsewhere following this week's stabbings in Southport
The man tackled by Metropolitan Police officers on Wednesday evening has not been named
Scotland Yard revealed 111 arrests were made during Whitehall riots over the Southport mass stabbing, after bottles, flares and fists rained down on officers.
The arrests were made for offences including violent disorder, assaults on police officers, possession of knives and offensive weapons and breach of protest conditions.
About 1,000 protesting yobs were condemned by the force as 'shameful' - as they accused them of exploiting the tragedy 'for their own violence and criminality'.
The Met's Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said: 'Last night our officers faced unacceptable scenes of disorder and violence, as others across the country have done in recent days.
'They acted with great courage and the highest levels of professionalism in the face of hateful behaviour.
'All our thoughts should be with the victims and families of those impacted by the most dreadful attack in Southport. It is shameful that some have sought to exploit this tragedy as justification for their own violence and criminality.
'There is absolutely no place for this on our streets. We will ensure that anyone involved in any violent disorder and criminal behaviour will be stopped, arrested and will face justice.'
MailOnline has approached the Met for further comment on the footage of a man being punched.
A teenager charged with murdering three children and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport was today named as Axel Rudakubana.
The 17-year-old, who turns 18 in just six days time, was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013.
Violence erupted on the streets of the capital as flag-waving protesters clashed with police
Protesters were seen wearing T-shirts with the faces of the three Southport victims on
Locals in Southport have called on rioters to leave their town after Tuesday night's violence
He is accused of carrying out the attack that killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.
Rudakubana is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes.
Up until now, the teenager's identity could not be revealed because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances.
But after a successful application to the judge by the Mail, Rudakubana's name can now be reported.
Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the suspect's family and the risk to him in custody with the public interest accurately reporting his identity.
Far-right mobs took to the streets of Southport and and other major UK cities this week after a fake news website spread misinformation about the identity of the suspect.
Russian state media were among those falsely claiming that the suspect had arrived by boat to the UK last year, sharing claims that he was on an M16 watch list.
It led to violent riots, seeing dozens of police officers injured, wheelie bins set alight and emergency vehicles set on fire.
In a bid to quell tensions - after more riots broke out in London, Manchester Hartlepool, and Aldershot - Judge Menary revealed Rudakubana's identity.
Pictured for the first time: Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana, now 17, pictured as a child, is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others
Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is charged with murdering three little girls and harming 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport with a 'curved kitchen knife'
Court artist drawing of Rudakubana covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court
Rudakubana (pictured as a child) is also accused of the attempted murders of eight more children, along with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, and businessman John Hayes
Rudakubana covers his face in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court after being charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder
Rudakubana (pictured in a video) could not previously be named because suspects under 18 receive automatic anonymity in all UK court cases, except for in exceptional circumstances
As the suspected murderer arrived at the court he was met by dozens of people shouting, with one man having to be held back by police officers as the van holding him past.
The revelation comes as two children hurt in the attack were discharged from Alder Hey Children's Hospital, with five others in a 'stable condition'.
Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said he had to balance the risk to the defendant's family and the initial risk while in custody against the public interest in accurately reporting his identity.
He said: 'By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days' time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder.
'Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.'
A provisional trial date at Liverpool Crown Court, set to last six weeks, was scheduled for January 20 next year.
Rudakubana is next due to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25 for a plea and trial preparation hearing and will be remanded in youth accommodation detention in the meantime.
London's 'Enough is Enough' protest yesterday marked the largest gathering of thugs in the UK this week.
Yobs took to the streets chanting the name of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson and yelled 'stop the boats'.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged nine, was one of three children killed by a knifeman at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class in Southport
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was also fatally wounded in the attack which shocked the nation
Also killed at the dance sesion in Southport was six-year-old Bebe King
Floral and written tributes are left alongside balloons and teddy bears at the scene of the stabbings on Hart Street, Southport
Forensic officers are pictured at the scene as emergency crews battled to save children
Leanne Lucas, who organised the Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, has had life-saving surgery and is now awake, her family said on Wednesday
Friendship bracelets reading 'Beautiful Swifties' are seen next to electric tea lights amid floral tributes for the victims of a deadly knife attack at the Atkinson in Southport
Mourners leave floral tributes near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died and eight were injured in a 'ferocious' knife attack
The Southport mass stabbings have led to riots on the streets. Pictured: A police van is torched in Southport on Tuesday night
Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent thugs took to the streets on Tuesday night
Some protesters were wearing T-shirts with the faces of the Southport victims on - despite affected families calling for an end to the violence.
Riot police were also pelted with glass bottles in Manchester, after protesters targeted a Holiday Inn hotel where migrants are believed to be housed.
The most chaotic riots were in Hartlepool where thugs were seen throwing objects at riot police, striking their shields and setting a police car on fire.
One person was live streaming the chaos when an Asian man was punched by a thug as he tried to walk past in what appeared to be a racially-motivated assault.
In Manchester, shocking footage emerged of a group of demonstrators, some masked, throwing bottles at riot police vans and officers. It is understood they were targeting a hotel where migrants are being housed.
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