UK lawmaker demands answers over arrest of elderly protestor outside parliament
LONDON (Reuters) - A British lawmaker demanded answers from Prime Minister Boris Johnson after an elderly female protestor was carried into the back of a police van outside parliament, in what he called an unconstitutional and undignified arrest.
Video footage shows three police officers lifting a person into a police vehicle, while Conservative lawmaker Charles Walker watched on, calling the arrest an outrage and telling the officers: "You must have mothers!"
Police said they had made three arrests in the area for breaching coronavirus restrictions after a group of people had gathered to protest, which is against current lockdown rules.
"Police engaged with those present and explained the current restrictions around gatherings of more than two people," a police statement said. It said those arrested had refused to comply with instructions.
Walker, a prominent critic of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's lockdown policy, raised the issue in parliament shortly after.
"This is a disgrace. This is un-British, it is unconstitutional," Walker said. "She was an old lady robbed of her dignity for having the courage to protest about having her fundamental rights, and those of my constituents and others, removed."
(Reporting by William James; editing by Stephen Addison)
