Detained man released on bail after Met police called to help enforcement officers get past crowd of 200 protesters
A man arrested for immigration offences was released on bail after protesters gathered in south-east London on Saturday for hours to block a van he was being transported in from leaving.
Video footage posted on Twitter showed a crowd of about 200 people sitting on the ground in front of the vehicle in Peckham while another clip showed members of the public standing and shouting “let him go”.
Metropolitan police officers were called to Evan Cook Close, near Queens Road train station, shortly after 1.30pm “to a report of protesters obstructing immigration officers” and said officers remained at the scene shortly before 5pm.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Officers attended and found a van was being prevented from leaving the location.
“One man has been arrested for immigration offences.”
The Met later said the man was arrested by immigration enforcement officers and has since been released on bail.
Eleanor Janega, 39, from south-east London, told the PA news agency: “We were alerted that there was an immigration raid in process so locals came down to block it.
“We had been sitting here blocking the van and having ice lollies.
