Women’s March: UK protesters join anti-Donald Trump march

From BBC

Thousands of protesters have joined a Women’s March in London as part of an international campaign on the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency.
The rally is among events in the UK and elsewhere planned in solidarity with the march in Washington, which is expected to draw 200,000 people.
Organisers aim to highlight women’s rights, which they perceive to be under threat from the new US administration.
A protest against Mr Trump took place at London’s US embassy on Friday night.
Singer Lily Allen joined demonstrators, local politicians and trades unionists outside the building in Grosvenor Square to highlight concerns raised by his election campaign on issues including nuclear weapons, climate change and immigration.
Other protests took place on Friday in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, as Mr Trump was being sworn in as the 45th US president.

Saturday’s marchers say they will be voicing concerns over issues including racial and gender equality, affordable healthcare, abortion rights and voting rights.
They are marching from the US embassy, in Grosvenor Square, to Trafalgar Square for a rally.

Demonstrations in the UK are scheduled for Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol and Shipley.

At the scene
Cherry Wilson, BBC News
“Girls just wanna have fundamental rights”, “Women won’t be trumped” and “Burn bras not bridges”, are some of the message being sent to Donald Trump from the UK.
There is a sense of solidarity among people in the crowd, many holding placards.
Women – and men – of all ages have come to stand up for women’s rights and protest against what they see as an attack on equality.
It is a family affair spanning generations, with parents carrying their babies and holding hands with teenage children.
“Those who shout the loudest are often the most heard,” an organiser, opening the event, told the crowd.
A group of female teenagers took to the stage to speak about what angers them.
“Aleppo, violence, racial shootings in America, far right politics, rape, tampon taxes,” they cried one by one.
‘Frank’ talks
The London march has attracted celebrity support on social media from Sandi Toksvig, Alexa Chung, Charlotte Church, Pixie Geldof, Bianca Jagger, June Sarpong and Ian McKellen, among others
Almost 700 so-called sister marches are planned on Saturday across the globe. Protests by women have already taken place in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

The largest demonstration so far has been in Sydney, Australia, where more than 3,000 protesters carrying placards with anti-Trump slogans took to the streets before gathering in the city’s Hyde Park.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Theresa May has congratulated President Trump on taking office, saying “we are both committed to advancing the special relationship between our two countries and working together for the prosperity and security of people on both sides of the Atlantic”.
But in an interview with the Financial Times, the prime minister said she would have “very frank” talks with the new president on issues where their opinions appear to differ, such as the future of Nato.

In Sydney, more than 3,000 protesters took to the streets on Saturday

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the UK will work “hand in glove” with Mr Trump’s administration “for the stability, the prosperity and the security of the world”.
But former Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted: “Feared the reality of today would be worse than the anticipation and it is”.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said he missed watching the swearing-in ceremony, tweeting a picture of himself delivering campaign leaflets, and the message: “Apparently there’s something on telly, but I found something better to do instead…”

IMAGES:
GETTY
PA
The first in the series of women’s marches on Saturday took place in Auckland, New Zealand Protesters in SydneyImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Singer Lily AllenImage copyright PA Image caption On Friday night, singer Lily Allen joined protesters outside the US embassy in London
Women’s march in Auckland New Zealand on 21 January 2017Image copyright REUTERS
Protesters outside US embassy in LondonImage copyright GETTY IMAGES
Ex-England rugby captain Chris Robshaw and his partner Camilla Kerslake Image copyrightPA
Protesters outside the US embassy in LondonImage copyright PA