The latest demonstrations came 13 days after the killing of George Floyd by US police and despite the government here urging people not to take part because of the risk of catching or spreading Corona virus.

Tonight, Boris Johnson defended the right to protest peacefully, but said the weekend's demonstrations had been subverted by thuggery from Bristol.

John Kay sent us this report 300 years after his death.

Edward Colston fall from Grace For centuries, he took pride of place in Bristol, celebrated as a merchant politician and philanthropist now reviled for his part in the slave trade.

That's that you represent years of oppression.

It represents years of hot, unjust, a lot of emotion, that hatred that has been built up inside of our starts.

We've internalized the years that coming down today hopefully signifies change.

Hopefully we've sent a message not just to everyone in the UK or the USA Worldwide.

Cast in bronze, now daubed with graffiti, one of Bristol's most famous sons, some protesters, knelt on his neck, a reference to the death of George Floyd.

Across the Atlantic.

This'll had begun as a black lives matter demonstration, but it ended in the historic docks where coal stones ships once sailed.

Jasmine is a trainee teacher.

What do you say to somebody who lives in Bristol?

He was horrified by the fact that this is gonna people might say it's vandalism, but black people have to walk these streets.

Black slaves.

Bill Kristol's Well, I walk these streets.

See that statue of Constant every day.

That's what it means.

That statute is a kick in the face.

It's all black people.

There has been a growing campaign in recent years to remove Colson's name from buildings across the city, but many feel destroying the statue was the wrong way to do it.

Tonight there was a small counter protest claiming local history had bean trashed.

Sheer vandalism on disorder completely is unacceptable on its right.

Actually, the police follow up on Bard's on.

Make sure that justice eyes taken undertaken with those individuals that are responsible for such disorderly and lawless behavior.

Avon and Somerset police say they deliberately took a low key approach to the whole protest due to sensitivities, safety and social distances.

Some people will look at this and think, Hang on a minute.

Should have intervened, should have stepped in.

You should have challenged the behavior that was happening but this was a very difficult policing operation.

There's a lot of context that sits around there, and I believe we did the right thing.

No regrets, no regrets.

This evening, people are coming down here laying placards and many of them just standing, looking in disbelief at what has happened here that in one afternoon this city has challenged its history and changed its landscape.

John K.

Biggest e news Ristic.

Elsewhere, protests took place in several parts of the country, with thousands gathering at the US Embassy in London.

A small number remain near Downing Street into this evening, and they have just been ordered to disperse by police cheese and do reports.

Another day with thousands have marched peacefully against racism.

In London, the focus was the U.

S.

Embassy from Oakland, California So I grew up with a lot of things violence around and it's something I don't want my son to experience in his life outside.

One of the reason why I'm in this country but it is less violent, but it's still there still racism.

So we have to fight.

This'll is my deep passion and I I I'm here because I believe that black people deserve the same chance is everybody else we need to tackle racism and we've never really dealt with it in this country in many countries and there comes a time when they will have to speak up in Glasgow.

Protesting safely during the pandemic was a concern for organizer's.

I think it's amazing it's really fighting it and it's amazing to see people ready to take social distancing measures, tediously doing the basic and stay safe today in Wrexham.

People also protested, mindful off the two meter social distancing.

This was the M six, which was partially closed for one hour off.

The protesters blocked the roads, but the day has been marred by a minority.

27 police officers have been injured during this week's demonstrations, but that number is likely to rise after this evening.

Bottles traffic cones and other objects were thrown up offices as they try to clear protesters Out of.

It's been a week of protests across the UK, and thousands have taken to the streets to have their voices heard.

But where does this go on what happens next?

G's and do ABC News?

The young organizers of today's protest have told the BBC that they are the generation to bring about real change.

In the past fortnight, the black lives matter.

Hashtag has been used 14 million times on social media, and many people have shared and listen to experiences of racism are community affairs.

Correspondent ran across food reports.

Well, black and we need to stand together.

I don't want my Children to have toe do the same thing that I'm doing right now.

We, the bereaved families that left behind, are the voices of the cemetery.

They are four decades apart, united by the same battle against racism.

Natasha is 21 just a student, but today she and her friend Eimer have brought together thousands of people across the UK to protest over the death of African American George Floyd.

You you can't really tell the oppressed how to feel because we're the ones who are experiencing it.

Just because people are like out on the street, like pointing at me and calling me the n word doesn't mean that like racism is still alive.

What would you say to people who criticized the lack of social distancing at these protests?

We have a health epidemic happening right now.

I don't want people to be effective, but the same time we have another pandemic, the pandemic of black people being killed and shot every single day, and no one's talking about it.

Loman's fighting about it, so I think that we need to fight both of these pandemics.

This isn't the first time people in the UK have taken to the streets to protest the bricks and riots in 1995 London riots in 2011 on the protest today have all been triggered by the deaths of black people killed by the police or in police custody.

These are the faces of some of the people who have died on uncomfortable history.

Some say it's now time for the nation to confront.

It's sunk in and then it doesn't seem came and then it came in Stephanie Lightfoot.

Bennett is still fighting for justice for her brother Leon, who died in police custody in 1992.

His case was reopened in November last year, when Leon died, it was nothing, you know.

And now we have this movement where a Me day is now.

Highlight it and students.

I love students.

They are the future.

They are the eyes and they are the ones that will help shut the door.

Not completely, but shut the door on racism as yet another generation take to the streets.

Thes organizes say they won't stop till those in power start to listen.

Brianna Crocks fit BBC News The England and Manchester City footballer Raheem Sterling has tonight told the BBC he has given his support to the protesters calling for efforts to end injustice.

He was speaking to Emily Make Listen, an interview which will run in full on Newsnight tomorrow.

The only know disease right now is the racism that we're fighting.

I think this right now at this import, this is the most important thing.

That is this moment time because, um, you know, it's just something that's been happening for years and years and you know, I'm just like the pandemic.

We want to see a We want to find something, a solution to to stop it.

Raheem Sterling, Let's turn to our home editor, Mark Eastern, who's here in the studio.

What are you taking away from the Siris of protests in this country?

Why are people so frustrated and so angry in Britain in the 21st century?

Angry enough to take to the streets in the middle of a deadly pandemic, angry enough to risk arrest Andy enough, angry enough in some cases to commit acts of criminal damage in a George George Floyd died thousands of miles away in Minneapolis.

And yet his death, I think, feels deeply personal to many people from the black and minority ethnic communities in this country because it's a reminder of the prejudice and the unfair privilege which still exists here off the pain off racism, the injustice of profound racial inequalities that exist in this country today.

Of course, there will be in a very real questions about the wisdom of mass protests in the middle off a virus, and indeed, about the violent behavior of a few protesters, the thuggery that the prime minister is talked about tonight.

But as Britain tries to identify what our new normal society is going to look like after this virus, perhaps we should try and think.

Are we going to respond to the obviously deep unhappiness, frustration on anger that we've seen on our streets over the last few days?

Mark, thank you very much.

Well, let's go live now to Washington tomorrow.

It will be two weeks since George Floyd was killed by police in the US state off Minnesota andare North America correspondent Alaimo Bull is at the White House now.

What is the latest there?

Aleem, on the aftermath of George Floyd's death, the response and the handling from the administration?

Well, things have been extremely peaceful over recent days.

You could barely see security forces visible here, too.

I mean, there was a sense that they were a bit of a red rag to a bull, particularly National Guard troops on the streets for a lot of the protesters.

We now hear that they won't be used going forward, but still large numbers of people coming here to the White House and to protest around the country.

And while the overarching cause, of course, black lives matter against institutional racism, and brutality by the police is the same everywhere.

There are a lot of local causes big for for a swell, like in Colorado, people are fighting for justice, for in particular family of an African American who was killed by local police there.

And in other places like Virginia, there were protests calling for Confederate statues to be removed, and in some cases protesters have taken matters into their own hands, removing memorials to those who defended slavery or even fought to keep slavery.

But in other cases, as with the authorities in Virginia, they have agreed to the demands of the protesters to remove Mawr statue.

So while that is still the case, while they're still tangible demands that can be met around the country, I think we're going to see these protests continue.

Beyond the memorial to George Floyd tomorrow in Texas and beyond his funeral on Tuesday as well a Lima bull in Washington.