Ten people were arrested on Friday after protesters from the British arm of the Black Lives Matter movement blocked the main road to London’s Heathrow Airport, police said.
Four people were in custody while the other six were being disentangled having locked themselves together across the five-lane slip road leading to the airport, causing traffic congestion at the Europe’s busiest hub.
One lane of the road, a spur off a motorway which connects London to western England, remained closed at midday on Friday, police said, adding that the airport and road network were otherwise open and operating as normal.
We call a nationwide #Shutdown: 05.08.16. #Shutdown racism. #Shutdown violence. #Shutdown borders. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/AjQCKt7Rke
— #BlackLivesMatterUK (@ukblm) August 3, 2016
Earlier, protesters unfurled a banner reading “Black Lives Matter, This is a crisis” and lay down in the road on the approach to the Heathrow tunnel on Friday morning, blocking five lanes of traffic.
Traffic was reported to be at a standstill from junction four of the M4 as a result.
The campaign group Black Lives Matter — or BLMUK — said it wanted to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot by police attempting to arrest him in Tottenham, north London, in August 2011, sparking nationwide riots.
The group called for “nationwide #shutdown” in a post on social media.
Black Lives Matter activist Adam Elliott Cooper (29) from London, said the Heathrow location was appropriate as “many people are either being killed at our borders or being sent back to certain death”.
He mentioned Angolan deportee Jimmy Mubenga, who died in October 2010. Three G4S guards were cleared of fatally restraining him on a plane as he shouted “I can’t breathe”.
Mr Elliott Cooper said the protests have “brought attention to a crisis that has been taking place in this country”.
Video footage showed police officers hunkering down next to the protesters,while chants of “black lives matter” could be heard as some people got out of their vehicles, which were bumper-to-bumper on the road into one of the world’s busiest airports.
The day of action comes just a day after the anniversary of Mr Duggan’s death. An inquest jury decided that Mr Duggan was lawfully killed by a police marksman.
Other UK protests
The protest was part of a day of action, with demonstrators also causing disruption in Nottingham and Birmingham.
In Nottingham, protesters attached themselves to each other and lay across tram lines in the city centre, halting traffic.
In Birmingham, activists chanted “No justice, no peace” as they blocked traffic on the approach to the city’s airport. Video footage showed some of the protesters apparently being arrested.
A West Midlands police spokeswoman said four women and one man were arrested on the A45 in Solihull, close to Birmingham airport, just before 7.30am. She said it was unclear what the protest was about as officers were waiting to interview the suspects.
The protest came during one of the busiest periods for Heathrow Airport, with many people heading off on holiday during the school break.
Agencies