UK protesters face off with police

Mass peaceful protests in London to condemn police violence Sunday (June 8) - later gave way to violence.

A crowd of tens of thousands dwindled into a small group of people, who faced off with police.

Crowds shouted chants in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the US.

And for better treatment in the UK.

"We want to be treated the same way that you lot are treated, we want to be treated with the same respect."

Police arrested more than 40 people over the weekend,

for offences including violent disorder and assault on emergency service workers.

At least 27 officers were injured, including two seriously.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter, people have a right to protest peacefully ... while observing social distancing, but they have no right to attack the police... and that the "demonstrations have been subverted by thuggery."

Earlier in the day, protesters vandalised a memorial to former British leader Winston Churchill - calling him racist.

And in Bristol, the statue of slaver trader Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into a river.

There were similar scenes in Belgium, where police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters who'd gathered near a colonial statue.

It marked a second weekend of demonstrations in Europe, mirroring protests in the US sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody.