Black Lives Matter movement

Black Lives Matter rallies hundreds in second UK day of protest

Traffic brought to standstill in Brixton while in Birmingham protesters join demonstration against death in custody of Kingsley Burrell

The Black Lives Matter rally in Brixton
The Black Lives Matter rally in Brixton, south London, to protest against police brutality in the US. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Hundreds of people in the UK have demonstrated against the killing of two black men – one in Minnesota and one in Louisiana – in the United States.

A crowd of about 300 people gathered in Windrush Square in Brixton, south London, bringing traffic to a standstill as they marched to the police station and through neighbouring streets, chanting “black lives matter” and “hands up, don’t shoot”.

It was the second show of British support against the US shootings in successive days. There was a mass protest in central London on Friday when hundreds of people marched on Westminster. The organisers, the Black Lives Matter London movement, described it on Twitter as a “plea, a cry for help”.

— margaret (@zawedde_) July 8, 2016

This is for our brothers and sisters in the states. From London. We here youStop police brutality #blacklivematters pic.twitter.com/cMostA1NgT

The founder of the Black Lives Matter movement in London, Marayam Ali, told the Voice newspaper she hoped the marches would show that the UK was standing in solidarity with “our American brothers and sisters”.

The 18-year-old, who is a sixth-form student, said: “By these people coming here to stand and unite, they are showing that they are against police brutality and that’s the most important thing. People forget that racism is a worldwide thing. It’s still very prevalent. This is ultimately a cry for help.”

Another London demonstration is planned for Southwark in the south of the capital on Sunday.

Birmingham's Black Lives Matter rally
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Protesters in Birmingham calling for justice for Kingsley Burrell who died four days after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act in March 2011. Photograph: Desmond Jaddoo/PA

Saturday’s second Black Lives Matter protest took place in Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre, where organisers said they sought to “avoid desensitisation and dehumanisation of the countless black lives both in America and the UK and worldwide that are told they don’t matter. This is just how things are. We’re not taking it anymore”.

The silent protest later joined a separate rally outside a police station in central Birmingham where demonstrators demanded to know whether the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will prosecute police over the death in custody of student Kingsley Burrell, 29, who died of cardiac arrest after being arrested by West Midlands police.

An inquest in May 2015 concluded that prolonged police restraint contributed to his death. The CPS said there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone involved but the Independent Police Complaints Commission has asked the CPS to review its decision.