Far-right ‘agitator’ fly-kicked police officer during London Black Lives Matter demo

Alfie Hubbard
PA
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A far-right agitator drunkenly “fly-kicked” a police officer during a counter-demonstration to the Black Lives Matter movement, a court heard on Thursday.

Alfie Hubbard, 26, was part of a group who pelted police officers with missiles during demonstrations in central London in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Prosecutor Fer Chinner called the group “right-wing extremist agitators” who had travelled to London to oppose the anti-racism movement, and claimed they were defending statues of historical importance.

“As he tried to get up to his knees and stand up, Alfie Hubbard – in a gratuitous and cowardly act of violence – ran towards the officer and fly-kicked him in the back before running away”, said the prosecutor.

Hubbard admitted violent disorder and was on Thursday handed a two-year suspended prison sentence at Southwark crown court.

“Your conduct was appalling”, said Judge Sally Cahill QC.

“This officer was already on the ground when you chose to kick him.

“The fact you were fully aware of what you were doing is shown by your conduct afterwards, when you ran off into the crowd as fast as you could. This was a very intentional act on your part.”

The court heard Hubbard, from Southwark, admitted travelling to “join the boys” in a counter-protest against the BLM demonstrations on June 13 last year.

“Among the agitators was a group of right-wing extremists and the prosecution say Alfie Hubbard was part of that group”, said Ms Chinner.

“They were shouting about the destruction of statues and being generally abusive towards police officers who were doing their best to make sure the protests remained peaceful and safe.”

Hubbard admitted he had been drinking heavily and taking cocaine during the day, but initially tried to claim the kick on Sgt Lambert was nothing more than a hop.

Ms Chinner said bodycam footage shows Hubbard “berating the police fairly consistently throughout the protests, being rude to them, and complaining about their failure to protect historical statues”.

“Towards the end of the day, Mr Hubbard is seen in Trafalagar Square standing together with a group who started making monkey gestures, shouting racist comments such as ‘go back to your own country’.”

The protests happened almost four weeks after the murder of Mr Floyd in Minneapolis by a police officer, and a week after the statue of slave trader Edward Colston had been toppled by demonstrators in Bristol.

Michael Edmonds, mitigating, said Hubbard is mixed race with a black mother and denies engaging in racist chanting.

“His behaviour that day was fuelled by alcohol”, he said. “It was a cowardly act which this defendant deeply regrets.”

He said Hubbard, who has no previous convictions, has “struggled” since the death of his brother from a drug overdose in 2018.

Hubbard was ordered to follow a curfew as part of his suspended prison sentence.

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