UK: Black Lives Matter movement blocks road to Heathrow
Protests across the country cause serious delays on main roads to Heathrow and Birmingham airports
The U.K. branch of the Black Lives Matter movement blocked a road to London's Heathrow Airport Friday, bringing traffic to a standstill.
Protesters chanted slogans as they lay down on the road under a banner which said "This is a crisis."
"If they don't give us justice, we don't give them peace," they said.
The movement had called for nationwide protests on its Facebook page on Wednesday to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old North Londoner who was shot by police attempting to arrest him in August 2011.
"We call a nationwide Shutdown: 05.08.16. Shutdown racism. Shutdown violence," the message read.
The protest prompted Heathrow Airport to issue a warning on its Twitter account about possible delays on the road.
Demonstrators also blocked a busy main road near Birmingham Airport, while in Nottingham, a group of protestors lay down on the tracks of the tram line, causing traffic chaos.
The rallies across the country, held for the first time in Britain, have resulted in a number of arrests.
Mark Duggan was shot dead in Tottenham, north London by police as they attempted to arrest him as part of an operation against a gang called the Tottenham Man Dem.
The verdict of the inquest into his death found that he was lawfully killed by the police.
His death sparked riots across London.
