More than 150 people have been arrested after anti-lockdown demonstrators hurling bottles and charging through ranks of police officers in central London Saturday, local media reported Sunday.
By 7:00 p.m. (1900 GMT) Saturday, London police had detained 155 people for a host of offences including breaching coronavirus restrictions, assaulting a police officer and drug possession, the London-based Evening Standard newspaper reported.
Scotland Yard, metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, said police had made a number of "early interventions" to prevent people from gathering, urging them to go home.
As part of this, coaches transporting demonstrators into the British capital were intercepted and those who did not turn back and go home were either arrested or issued with fixed penalty notices, police said.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the city near Oxford Street chanting "freedom" on Saturday, with some carrying placards reading "Stop Controlling Us" and "No More Lockdowns".
Sky News reporter said Saturday that there were "quite violent, aggressive clashes" between police and some protesters, while traffic was temporarily blocked on Regent Street.
The Metropolitan Police had urged people not to attend protests this weekend and warned those who attend would risk enforcement action by officers.
England is currently under a month-long national lockdown, the second of its kind since the coronavirus outbreak in Britain, in a bid to quell the resurgence of coronavirus.
According to British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, most of England will face harsh coronavirus restrictions in a new three-tier system when the lockdown ends next week, with London being listed in Tier Two.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States are racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.
