Black Lives Matter protests blockade airports

Black Lives Matter protesters have blocked routes into Heathrow and Birmingham airports, as well as traffic in Manchester and Nottingham, at one of the busiest times of the year for transport networks.

Long tailbacks built up at Heathrow after banners were spread across arterial routes and demonstrators started lying in the road at the entrance to the hub, said the Daily Telegraph.

In Nottingham, "protesters purporting to be part of the Black Lives Matter movement" caused delays on the tram network by laying down on tracks, the BBC reports

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The broadcaster quoted organiser Joshua Virasami as saying black people should come together "to achieve justice and equality in Britain and all over the world".

The London Evening Standard advised readers of further protests throughout the day, with another expected at 6pm in Altab Ali Park near the Aldgate East tube station.

The demonstrators received an unsympathetic response from Twitter users, according to the MailOnline, who complained they were disrupting family holidays and people trying to work.

"All the families on their way to Heathrow that have worked hard all year round to have a holiday and you get a load berks with a banner," the site reported one tweet as saying.

Black Lives Matter said it chose today for its action to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police in Tottenham, north London, sparked rioting in 2011.

The Sun says this "marks a new phase for the UK group", which has previously held relatively small protests.