Protesters clash with UK police outside former BBC headquarters

The demonstration against the broadcaster occurred despite it having sold the building in 2013

Police officers stop protesters from entering the former BBC headquarters during the demonstration against the broadcaster and pandemic measures. Getty

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British police clutching batons formed a wall on Monday to hold off demonstrators trying to enter the BBC’s former headquarters in west London. No arrests were made.

Video posted on social media showed officers scuffling with protesters, who tried to charge through the doors. The crowd, thought to be anti-vaccination demonstrators, later moved to central London.

Groups opposed to the Conservative government’s mass vaccination programme and restrictions to control the spread of Covid-19 have criticised the BBC for failing to adequately cover their views.

But the BBC has not owned the site of Monday’s protest since 2013, when it sold the property and relocated to central London.

A commercial subsidiary of the BBC still operates three studios on the site, making shows for broadcasters including the BBC, Sky and ITV.

Charlene White, a presenter on the ITV programme Loose Women, said the protest occurred while the show was on air.

“Huge thanks to the swift response of London’s @metpoliceuk … not an easy situation for them to deal with either,’’ Ms White tweeted.

“Not sure what protesters were hoping to achieve but all they would’ve found was me, Jane, Nadia and Penny on @loosewomen talking about the menopause.”

The demonstration attracted the attention of authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who mentioned it on Monday in a briefing in Minsk.