British protesters say ‘No to racism, no to Trump’

Demonstrators connection counterbalance to royal grandeur and flattery of US president astatine Windsor Castle.

Demonstrators person taken to the streets of London and Windsor to protestation Donald Trump’s unprecedented 2nd authorities sojourn to the United Kingdom, which quality rights groups person condemned implicit US enactment for “the continuing genocide of the Palestinian people”.

Hundreds of protesters gathered astatine Portland Place successful cardinal London, adjacent the BBC’s Broadcasting House, carrying banners speechmaking “No to racism, nary to Trump,” alongside smaller versions of the “Trump babe blimp” that became an icon of wide demonstrations against his archetypal authorities sojourn successful 2019. The protesters were besides marching towards Whitehall and Parliament Square.

Other anti-Trump protests were besides reported connected Wednesday astir Windsor Castle, located 40 kilometres (25 miles) westbound of cardinal London.

Meanwhile, the UK authorities has rolled retired the royal reddish carpet for the US president, holding meetings with US concern executives and staging ceremonies designed to triumph favour from Trump connected commercialized matters.

According to Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic, authoritative events were deliberately kept distant from cardinal London demonstrations “to spare Donald Trump the embarrassment of encountering a protest”.

Stop the War, 1 of the main organisers, said connected X: “Genocide deniers not welcome! All retired against Trump’s authorities visit! Demand US and UK halt arming the Israeli genocidal state!”

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign besides encouraged Brits to talk up. “Trump’s deportations corroborate helium is simply a racist authoritarian astatine location and a warmongerer abroad. These are not things we should beryllium honouring. Join america to request our authorities cancel this visit.”

Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from the protests, described them arsenic “the counterpoint to each that flattery and pomp and grandeur that’s going connected successful Windsor astatine the moment”.

“There are nary royal carriages here. There are nary subject parades. This is simply a precise antithetic England. This is the England of the left. It’s the England of Trades Unions. It’s the England of biology groups and the Palestine solidarity campaign. And they accidental that Donald Trump is not invited successful this country.”

Challands said demonstrators accused the British authorities of honouring “a antheral who they accidental has fundamentally been destroying quality rights successful the United States, destroying quality rights astir the world, denying clime alteration and enabling a genocide successful Gaza”.

“They besides constituent to him arsenic fundamentally the spiritual figurehead of a planetary far-right question that is authoritarian and rolling backmost democracy,” helium noted.

Despite efforts to cocoon Trump from demonstrations, hundreds of protesters from the Stop Trump Coalition gathered extracurricular Windsor Castle. Thames Valley Police said 4 radical were arrested connected suspicion of malicious communications aft they projected images of Trump and kid enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the 1,000-year-old fortress.

Officers besides spoke with the operator of a van carrying an advert that showed Trump alongside Epstein, who died by termination successful a New York jailhouse successful 2019. “No arrests were made, and nary vehicles were seized,” constabulary said of that encounter.

Trump’s sojourn comes arsenic UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces governmental difficulties astatine location aft helium precocious dismissed the UK’s ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, pursuing a backlash implicit the diplomat’s transportation to Epstein.

Trump’s relationship with Epstein has besides exposed him to damaging headlines successful caller weeks.