Anti-lockdown protests: Lincoln residents among those involved

Updated 21 March, 12:45

A number of Lincoln residents were among those who gathered in London on Saturday to protest against COVID-19 restrictions.

Many of them were members of a local anti-lockdown group, which The Linc recently uncovered, and shared cars or travelled on public transport to get to the capital.

The protest had been planned for weeks and thousands of people from across the country turned out. One Telegram chat for the event had nearly 15,000 members at original time of publication.

The Metropolitan Police said before the event that anyone who gathered in London faced “necessary and proportionate enforcement action”, including either include a fixed penalty notice or arrest.

However, police appeared to be following and observing the crowd, which could be heard chanting “freedom”, along with anti-vaccination messages.

There are similar themes found in the comments of one livestream. Those in support of the protest posted “Freedom, freedom, freedom”, “Police, time to side with the people” and “End Westminster now”, among other messages.

As well as the main demonstration, business owners were also encouraged to open their doors to customers, in defiance of Government regulations that state non-essential businesses must remain closed.

The protest came after 60 MPs and peers signed a letter sent to Home Secretary Priti Patel, insisting that lockdown restrictions should be eased to allow protests.