A 28-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested by police after he was pictured appearing to urinate next to a memorial for a police officer killed in the 2017 terror attack in Westminster.
PC Keith Palmer was fatally stabbed as he stood guard in front of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on March 22, 2017 by Khalid Masood after the 52-year-old convert to Islam drove into pedestrians at high speed, killing four other people.
In an image widely shared on social media a man was shown apparently relieving himself near to the memorial during a day of violent clashes between far-right protestors and police.
The plaque is a short walk from a statue of Winston Churchill, which far-right demonstrators had vowed to defend before their protests descended into running battles with police.
Scotland Yard has confirmed that a 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency.
He is currently in custody in Essex after presenting himself at a police station.
Absolute shame on this man.
Of all the images to emerge over these few testing days I find this one of most abhorrent.
Please help identify him. pic.twitter.com/8ydcNmTWrN— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) June 13, 2020
Commenting on the image Commander Bas Javid: “We are aware of a disgusting and abhorrent image circulating on social media of a man appearing to urinate on a memorial to PC Palmer.
"I feel for PC Palmer’s family, friends and colleagues. We have immediately launched an investigation, and will gather all the evidence available to us and take appropriate action.”
Tobias Ellwood, a Tory MP and chairman of the Defence Select Committee, who was among the first on the scene after PC Palmer was attacked, condemned the man’s actions.
Writing on Twitter, he condemned the widely circulated image as “abhorrent”.
"Absolute shame on this man,” he wrote.
“Of all the images to emerge over these few testing days I find this one of most abhorrent.
“Please help identify him.”
