Lockdown protest UK: Police issue pictures of nine men they are hunting

Police have released images of nine people they would like to speak to after anti-lockdown protests in central London turned violent.

Scotland Yard said 14 officers were injured as they tried to disperse a crowd of more than 100 people in Hyde Park last Saturday.

The group was playing music and gathered closely together, and police asked them to leave the area because of coronavirus regulations.

Missiles were then thrown at the officers, the Metropolitan Police said, with the violence described by one as the ‘worst I have seen in recent years’.

Five of the 14 injured officers required medical treatment.

Missiles were then thrown at the officers, the Metropolitan Police said, with the violence described by one as the ‘worst I have seen in recent years’. Pictured, an injured officer

Scotland Yard said 14 officers were injured as they attempted to disperse a crowd of more than 100 people in Hyde Park last Saturday. Pictured, one of the men police are hunting for 

Police are looking to speak to these two men after a night of violence in London last week

Detective Chief Inspector Nat Norris said: ‘These officers were simply trying to do their job and it can never be acceptable for them to be attacked in this way.’ 

Demonstrators hurled bottles as officers attempted to disperse the crowds in Hyde Park last Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said. 

Photographs posted on social media show a female police officer bleeding from a cut to her head, while another suffered a similar wound on his forehead. 

The supporters of the anti-vaccine passport movement are protesting against new COVID-19 measures including what they call ‘coerced vaccinations’.

Among the group were a host of famous faces including TV presenter Beverly Turner as well as London Mayor candidates Piers Corbyn and Laurence Fox.

As footage emerged showing thousands of placard-wielding protesters take to the streets of London, emergency service workers shared their disappointment online.

Demonstrators hurled bottles as officers attempted to disperse the crowds in Hyde Park last Saturday evening, the Metropolitan Police said. Pictured, one of the wanted men

Detective Chief Inspector Nat Norris said: ‘These officers were simply trying to do their job and it can never be acceptable for them to be attacked in this way.’ Pictured, wanted men

This man wearing all black is wanted by Metropolitan Police following the protest

As footage emerged showing thousands of placard- wielding protesters take to the streets of London, emergency service workers shared their disappointment online. Pictured, two more wanted men 

One officer was so injured he had to be taken to hospital, the Met Police confirmed, after missiles were thrown at police

An officer is seen gesturing to another person off camera as police tried to bring the crowds under control after the protests

John Apter, a serving police officer, tweeted: ‘Thoughts are with my @metpoliceuk colleagues who really are that thin blue line in Hyde Park tonight.

‘Facing provocation, missiles being thrown, cameras being stuffed in their faces and more. People who criticise them from their armchairs wouldn’t last one minute in their shoes.’ 

John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, continued: ‘These officers are just doing a job, they’re somebody’s son, daughter they’re mums and dads.

Smoke grenades appear to have been deployed amid the violent clashes following the protest in London’s streets

Tensions flared as protestors squared up to uniformed officers wearing masks at the clashes in London’s Hyde Park

Hundred of protesters gathered in London for the Unite for Freedom protest on Saturday afternoon

Police were seen detaining one of the protestors in London who was wearing a hoodie that read ‘say no to medical tyranny’

‘To be targeted in the way they are says a lot about the society we’ve become. I will continue to do my best to support them but I need Government to do more, much more.’

And Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden wrote: ‘I’ll be honest as an ICU doctor this actually makes me want to cry. A gut punch for NHS staff everywhere tonight. I’m gutted. 

‘The thing that tears me up about this is we have been coming out of lockdown slowly to prevent a third wave and further lockdowns. This kind of selfish behaviour risks not only everyone’s safety but further lockdowns.

‘NHS staff are still living through the trauma of the last year. This is a slap in face for all us and for everyone who has lost friends, colleagues and family members. Why can’t these people just go and have a beer in a nice pub garden?’