Poll Tax Riots - Shocking Footage Captures Aftermath of Violent Demonstrations (1990)
On 1 April 1990, ITN filmed on the streets of London as the capital awoke to scenes of devastation in the aftermath of the previous day's demonstrations against the Poll Tax. The introduction of a new, flat-rate taxation system by the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher was met with widespread opposition, and 31 March 1990 saw around 200,000 people demonstrate against the tax on the streets of London. While the vast majority of demonstrators marched peacefully, rioting broke out between protesters and the police, with the result of 339 people arrested and 113 injured by the day's end.
The following day, ITN recorded business owners boarding up their vandalised and looted shops. At a church near the Prime Minister's residence of Chequers in Buckinghamshire, Mrs Thatcher denounced the rioters as "anarchists" who were "against democracy". Home Secretary David Waddington, meanwhile, visited the site of the riots, where he was mobbed by protesters. Two demonstrators were arrested at the scene by the Metropolitan Police, who were booed and met with shouts of "fascist!" by onlookers.
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