By the time I arrived at Hyde Park, there were several thousand people who had arrived from all over the country to march against lockdown and other measures associated with the pandemic.
The event was billed as Unite for Freedom, and according to press reports attracted around ten thousand protestors, including anti-vaxers.
I found myself surrounded by banners and signs that ranged from crudely rushed homemade attempts to highly professional ones. Most of them were against what the protestors saw as unreasonable constraints on their liberty such as lockdown, mask wearing and vaccine passports. Protestors also complained about being ignored by mainstream media.
As we headed up Oxford Street, marchers left stickers on any stationary object they could find, including police vehicles.
The police presence was extremely high, but although there were reports afterwards of three arrests and of three officers being injured, I did not witness any violence or unruly behaviour.
A few of those I spoke to claimed that there were more people on this ‘freedom’ march than any other they had been on.
The atmosphere varied from angry to festive and as we headed towards Piccadilly there was a truck that had been converted into a sound system.
The march carried on its route past Downing Street to Westminster where it was reported that hundreds of tennis balls were thrown at the Houses of Parliament.
Disruption to traffic and transport caused tension to rise between the protesters and commuters, but where I was it remained peaceful.
The numbers I saw on the streets that day suggest that dissatisfaction with the government’s approach to Covid is gaining momentum.
