A man has been pictured urinating on PC Keith Palmer’s memorial during protests in London on Saturday.
Tensions have been flaring between police and far-right groups who had vowed to protect statues and memorials in the Capital after last weekend’s Black Lives Matter protest saw the statue to Edward Colston torn down and thrown into the harbour.
Mr Palmer was killed while protecting Parliament from a terrorist attack on 22 March, 2017.
Pictures show the unknown man relieving himself right next to Mr Palmer’s plaque which was erected outside the Palace of Westminster last February.
At the time, then Speaker of the House John Bercow said it would serve ‘as a lasting tribute to his dedication and his courage’ and ensure visitors would ‘never forget the sacrifice and heroism of this brave British police officer.’
Politicians and officers have hit out at the “abhorrent act”.
Tobias Ellwood MP who had battled to save Mr Palmer during the terror attack wrote on Twitter: “Absolute shame on this man.
“Of all the images to emerge over these few testing days I find this one of most abhorrent.”
He pleaded with his follows to help identify him.
Chief Superintendent for the Metropolitan Police Force Roy Smith wrote on social media: ” I refuse to RT the picture of the moron urinating on the memorial of a colleague killed defending us from a terrorist. Words fail me.”
The Police Federation also condemned the attack.
Chairman Ken Marsh said: “I am absolutely sickened to see these images. How very sad that a human being has chosen to do that. It’s just disgusting.”
The Father of the House of Commons, Sir Peter Bottomley, has said a protester seen urinating by the memorial to Pc Keith Palmer in London should be “ashamed”.
The senior Conservative MP said the people with him should have intervened to tell him his actions were wrong.
“It is the kind of behaviour that should make anyone ashamed,” he told the PA news agency.
“If people had the courage of Keith Palmer they would know they should intervene and say to anyone doing that kind of thing: ‘Don’t.’
“I think the people who were with the person should have intervened. If you stand by and do nothing, bad things go on happening.”
