Thousands protest against Bloody Sunday prosecution

LONDON: Thousands of bikers have taken to the streets of central London to protest against the prosecution of a soldier who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

Organisers claim as many as 11,000 bikers met on Park Lane on Friday afternoon, before riding through London to Parliament Square and on to Trafalgar Square.The protesters, many of whom are armed forces veterans themselves, oppose the prosecution of an unnamed soldier, known only as Soldier F. Soldier F is to be charged with murdering two people after troops opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in Londonderry in January 1972, on what became known as Bloody Sunday.

Some relatives of the 13 killed have campaigned for their prosecution, while others argue that Soldier F should not face trial. The protest, which also saw around 80 bikers ride to the Stormont parliament building in Belfast, was conceived in March when Harry Wragg, 56, posted a video on Facebook, calling for Soldier F not to be prosecuted.

He claimed a form of immunity was given to paramilitaries as a result of the peace process — concessions he insisted should be extended to British soldiers who served. A number of biker groups from around the UK welcomed Wragg’s suggestion of a procession of motorbikes in London to protest against Soldier F’s prosecution.

The protesters wore leather jackets with patches that showed their biker group, and many veterans bore the insignia of their former regiments. Bikers came from across the UK on Friday morning, with some travelling to London from Newcastle, South Wales, Leicester and Kent. They brought flags that read: “We stand with Soldier F”.

Park Lane was blocked on Friday afternoon by riders queuing to take part in the procession. The bikers’ engine revving attracted a crowd to watch the ride begin, at 1.30pm. The protest travelled from Park Lane through Victoria, across Vauxhall Bridge, back across the Thames at Westminster Bridge and into Parliament Square.