Black Lives Matter: Racism at London protest - News Review

The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, has condemned what he called ‘racist thuggery’ after clashes between protesters and police in central London. Neil and Catherine look at the vocabulary in the news around this story.

*Please note: We have decided to activate YouTube's automatic subtitles on this video. The BBC is not responsible for the accuracy of YouTube automatic subtitles.

The story

The prime minister has condemned what he called ‘racist thuggery’ after clashes between protesters and police in central London. Crowds of mainly white men gathered around the Sir Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square saying they wanted to protect it from vandalism by anti-racism demonstrators.

Video chapters

0:00 - start
0:42 - the story
1:56 - the first headline
4:02 - the second headline
7:20 - the third headline
9:46 - language summary

Vocabulary

thuggery
violent behaviour

• Thuggery can make a peaceful protest turn violent.
• There’s a long history of thuggery at football competitions.

clash
fight

• Rival gangs clashed in the street.
• Politicians clashing in parliament is part of the democratic process.

headed off
prevented from happening

• With good planning, the worst effects of natural disasters can be headed off.
• He headed off a tantrum by buying his son an ice cream.

To download the audio and test your understanding, go to our website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/newsreview/unit-13/session-146

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