With Notting Hill Carnival 2020 cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Black Lives Matter protesters took advantage of the open space and staged a protest against police violence and racism.
Notting Hill Carnival is perhaps one of the world’s biggest celebrations of black culture so the decision to hold the event in the absence of carnival made sense.
First gathering at Notting Hill Gate Station, the activists walked and gathered peacefully – making their way down to Hyde Park as they carried signs and pickets expressing their messages that demanded change and swift action.
As reported by The Guardian, the organiser of the event, Ken Hinds, was threatened with arrest and police action. According to the met, this was because Hinds “was not qualified to call a demonstration under coronavirus health protection regulations” and not “a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution, a public body, or a political body”.
Ken Hinds has said that he seeks to challenge the Met’s decision to persecute him.