Black Lives Matter activist Patrick Hutchinson who saved injured white man hailed by Downing Street as 'the best of us'

Ewan Somerville15 June 2020

Downing Street has hailed the Black Lives Matter protester who was pictured carrying an injured man to safety during Saturday’s clashes as “the best of us”.

Patrick Hutchinson stepped in to help the white man during heated scenes between anti-racist activists and some far-right members in central London.

This lunchtime, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said: “The images are very moving. Nobody should have to face vile racism and abuse.

“I think Patrick Hutchinson’s instincts in that moment represent the best of us.”

More than 100 people were arrested in the capital at the weekend as some far-right groups and self-proclaimed “defenders” of statues including that of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square clashed with officers.

Protesters carry a 'far-right' supporter to safety
REUTERS

The personal trainer and grandfather said he and his friends felt compelled to intervene when they saw a scuffle at the top of the stairs by Southbank Centre, near Waterloo.

“His life was under threat, so I just went under, scooped him up, put him on my shoulders and started marching towards the police with him,” he told Channel 4 News.

“If the other three police officers that were standing around when George Floyd was murdered had thought about intervening, and stopping their colleague from doing what he was doing, like we did, George Floyd would be alive today.

A Black Lives Matter supporter carries an injured counter-protester to safety, near Waterloo station, London
REUTERS

“I just want equality, equality for all of us. At the moment, the scales are unfairly balanced and I just want things to be fair for my children and my grandchildren.”

Recalling the moment of chaos near Waterloo Bridge, Reuters photographer Dylan Martinez, who took the image, said he saw a black protester emerging from the violent scenes carrying an injured white man in a "fireman's lift" over his shoulder.

"I saw a skirmish and someone falling to the ground," Mr Martinez said. After hearing someone say "that's not what we do", he said he suddenly saw a white man being carried on a black person's shoulders through the crowd.

Police chiefs are seeking a protest ban after 23 officers were injured on Saturday when missiles, smoke grenades, glass bottles and flares were hurled at them.

The Prime Minister condemned the protests as “racist thuggery” and police branded the scenes as “mindless hooliganism”.

A 28-year-old man has been jailed for 14 days after he was photographed urinating next to the memorial dedicated to Pc Keith Palmer, the officer who was stabbed to death in the 2017 terror attack in Westminster.

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