A scuffle between knife crime protesters and security guards forced London Assembly members to evacuate the main chamber at City Hall.
A meeting was brought to a halt on 4 July when City Hall security asked a small group of demonstrators in the public gallery to take down their signs. There was a tussle in the gallery, with posters ripped as staff tugged them away.
The protesters’ placards had slogans like “Cuts cost lives”. They appeared to be protesting the lack of funds to tackle high crime levels in the Capital.
One of the protesters shouted his objections as the meeting was called to a halt.
He said: “We are here for just a peaceful protest. We’ve not even said anything – we’ve just asked to stop the cuts and look how they’re treating us.”
He added that cuts to youth services are causing deaths. As the protesters were escorted from the Chamber, one man yelled: “Young people are dying. Our children are dying.”
The protest comes in the wake of continuing violence in the Capital, with another fatal stabbing in Battersea on 3 July, the sixth in five days. There have been 67 murders in London so far this year.
