Two men deny assaulting police officers during Whitehall disorder

A female officer is said to have been punched twice to the back of the head.

Two men denied assaulting police officers during an anti-immigration demonstration when they appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (PA) (PA Archive)

Two men have denied assaulting police officers during an anti-immigration demonstration in central London last month.

Craig Tunmore, 37, of Sutton, denied assaulting two officers during the disorder near Downing Street in Whitehall.

Tunmore is said to have punched an officer in the back and elbowed another in the face.

The officers were trying to “hold a cordon” when the alleged assaults occurred, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

Tunmore faces two charges of assault by beating of an emergency worker.

Danny Fournier, 41, denied striking a female officer “to the back of the head twice”.

“Luckily”, the officer was wearing a helmet, the court heard.

But Fournier, of Lambeth, south London, admitted threatening behaviour by striking out at another officer during the anti-immigration demonstration, the court was told.

Police arrested 121 people following violent disorder outside Downing Street on Wednesday July 31, two days after a stabbing at a dance studio in Southport.

Bottles and cans were thrown at police and flares were launched at the statue of Sir Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.

Tunmore and Fournier were both granted conditional bail to appear at Southwark Crown Court on September 11.

They are prohibited from entering the City of Westminster during that time.