Dancing on Maggie's grave: How the Left 'celebrated' Baroness Thatcher's death with smashed shops and anarchy in the streets
- Two women arrested for burglary after being found inside a shop
- Barnardos shop front smashed in Brixton, south London
- One policeman seriously injured after being pelted with bottles in Bristol
- Death could propel Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead into the top 40
- Glasgow, Liverpool and Derry were also the scene of celebrations
- Petrol bombs were thrown at police in Derry amid celebrations
- More parties are being planned for funeral date of Wednesday 17 April
By JILL REILLY
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Hundreds took to the streets as macabre ‘Thatcher death parties’ were held late across the country last night, organised by critics of the 'Iron Lady.'
In Bristol, seven police officers were injured - one seriously - as violence erupted at a street party of 200 people and officers were pelted with bottles, cans and rubbish.
Riot police were deployed in Brixton, south London, as the crowds, which had been drinking since 5pm, started to become more aggressive, while in Liverpool flares and fireworks were set off outside Lime Street Station.
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Macabre: Hundreds took to the streets as 'Thatcher death parties' were held late into the night across the country, organised by critics. A man is seen with a bleeding head in Bristol after a street party
Joyous: Some residents in Liverpool were clearly happy with the death of Margaret Thatcher, as they took to the streets last night, lights flares and setting off fireworks outside Lime Street Station
Aggression: In Brixton, south London, police grapple with a protestor as the celebrations became more heated. There were reports that bottles were thrown at police wearing helmets
Messages to organise the parties began flooding the internet minutes after the official announcement.
The late former Prime Minister divided opinion and while many have mourned, some have seen her death as a cause for celebration.
In Bristol police were called to Chelsea Road in the Easton area of the city during the early hours of today after violence erupted at a street party.
Trouble flared after midnight when a rowdy 200-strong crowd refused police requests to disperse.
Dozens of officers donned riot gear and used shields and batons as they were pelted with bottles, cans and rubbish.
Call out: Firecrews were called to tackle a series of bins which were set on fire by the mob and a police car was damaged by the flying missiles
Rowdy: Trouble flared after midnight when a boisterous 200-strong crowd refused police requests to disperse from Easton, Bristol
Prepared: Dozens of officers donned riot gear and used shields and batons as they were pelted with bottles, cans and rubbish
Sparks: Wheelie bins were set on fire by the mob and a police car was damaged by the flying missiles
Out to party: Some people drank champagne while others walked around in Thatcher masks and one man dressed up as the former PM
Attack: In Bristol, six officers were injured - one seriously - when violence flared at a gathering to celebrate the death of Margaret Thatcher
VIDEO Mobs clash with police during 'celebrations' in Bristol
Wheelie bins were set on fire by the mob and a police car was damaged by the flying missiles.
TODAY'S POLL
Some of the injured police needed hospital treatment and one male officer was still detained today with a neck injury.
One man was arrested for violent disorder and it took police more than two hours to restore calm.
It was not until 3am that most of the police units sent to the scene were stood down.
The party had started outside the Chelsea Inn in Easton, which is one of Bristol's poorest and multi-cultural neighbourhoods.
The air was thick with cannabis smoke as revellers toasted the death of the Iron Lady, chanting;
'Maggie Thatcher, Maggie Thatcher, she's not living anymore. She's not living anymore.'
Stand off: The first of several planned 'Thatcher death parties' across the country began last night with more than 200 revellers gathering in Brixton, south London
The Left's sick 'celebration' of Baroness Thatcher's death: Hundreds of people block the streets in Brixton, South London
Target: Foxtons estate agent on Brixton Road was targeted with paint bombs during the gathering
Outraged: Brixton Ritzy cinema was also a target for the demonstrators. The cinema tweeted: 'Some the protesters/revellers have climbed up on our redograph and written their own messages, this is not our doing people!'
Determined: Protesters climb on the the balcony at The Ritzy cinema in Brixton and change the letters to 'Margaret Thatcher's dead LOL'
VIDEO 'Margaret Thatcher's Dead. Lol' Cinema sign change as it happened
Ready for action: A police dog lunges at a protester, but he doesn't seem too perturbed and just smiles back
Some people drank champagne while others walked around in Thatcher masks and one man dressed up as the former PM.
Sound systems were set up in the street to fuel the party atmosphere and the trouble broke out when police tried to stop the music.
Unemployed Julian Styles, 58, who was made redundant from his factory job in 1984, said: 'I've been waiting for that witch to die for 30 years.
'Tonight is party time. I'm drinking one drink for every year I've been out of work.'
Demonstrations: Banners were held stating 'Rejoice Thatcher is dead' by drunken crowds
Casualty of the party: Barnardos charity shop was also targeted and had its window smashed
Watchful: Police wearing riot gear were called in as drunken crowds rejoiced, many of whom were too young to remember her as prime minister
Party is over: The 'celebrations' ended at approximately 1:45am
Cause: Revellers danced the conga, drank champagne and chanted: 'Maggie, Maggie, Maggie ¿ Dead, Dead, Dead'
History: Brixton was the scene of intense rioting during her time as PM - it was blamed on deep social divisions, racial tensions and unemployment
Speaking to Stephen Nolan on BBC Radio Ulster, former prime minister Tony Blair said the celebrations of Baroness Thatcher’s death were in poor taste.
'Even if you disagree with someone very strongly, you can still particularly at the moment of their passing, you should show some respect,' he said.
When asked if he worried there would be similar celebrations when he dies, Mr Blair said
'When you decide, you divide. I think she would be pretty philisophical about it and I hope I will be too.'
'When you decide, you divide. I think she would be pretty philisophical about it and I hope I will be too.'
In Brixton, south London, two women were arrested on suspicion of looting a store and riot police were deployed as the crowds which had been drinking since 5pm started to become more aggressive, refusing to let buses through the streets.
Controversial: This banner was paraded last night in Liverpool - during her time in power the Tories were seen as being indifferent to the industrial decline in Merseyside
More than 300 people, including the young and old partied until late at night on the streets of London, clutching cans of cider and cartons of milk as they danced along to reggae and 1980s music.
Many children also attended the impromptu event with their parents some wearing fancy dress, fairy wings and clutching balloons.
The carnival-like celebrations also drew crowds who had no knowledge or interest in at Thatcher, but who wanted to join in with the revelry.
Brixton was the scene of intense rioting during her time as Prime Minster - the unrest was blamed on deep social divisions, racial tensions and unemployment.
At 11pm last night, party-goers climbed the Ritzy Cinema to replace the billboard of films to say ‘Margaret Thatchers dead’ .
They received cheers and applause from fellow revellers as they did so.
Later they added the words ‘LOL’, meaning ‘laugh out loud’, followed by ‘Oh Aye’.
The two hooded men who covered their faces as they replaced the words on the Picture House cinema also attached a sign reading ‘the bitch is dead’.
The Ritzy Cinema said it had nothing to do with masked people and later tweeted its thanks to those who helped clean up broken letters and damage.
Pictures of anti-Thatcher graffiti scrawled on walls in Brixton also appeared on Twitter, with one reading: 'You snatched my milk! & our hope.'
Banners were held stating ‘Rejoice Thatcher is dead’ by drunken crowds, many of whom were too young to remember her as prime minister.
VIDEO People took to streets in west Belfast following new of former PM's death
Delight: Revellers huddle in a circle in Falls Road, Belfast last night after news of her death
Public: Graffiti on the Falls Road in west Belfast. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has said Margaret Thatcher caused 'great hurt to the Irish and British people' during her time as Prime Minister
Disappointing: A Democratic Unionist member of the Stormont assembly Jonathan Bell described parties organised in Derry and Belfast as 'disappointing and disgusting'
Announcement: A man makes his way past graffiti daubed on the Free Derry Corner in the Bogside area of Londonderry, northern Ireland
Sickening messages also began flooding the internet minutes after the official announcement.
Revellers danced the conga, drank champagne and chanted: ‘Maggie, Maggie, Maggie – Dead, Dead, Dead.
Response: The reaction to Baroness Thatcher's has split people across Britain
Barnados charity shop was a casualty of the celebrations and this morning the store front had been left with a gaping hole in the glass.
Alex Bigham, a councillor in Lambeth representing Stockwell condemned the celebrations and said 'Even if you detested her policies, many of which I did, it is tasteless posturing.'
The Metropolitan Police said: 'Police dealt with a group of approximately 100 people in Brixton who caused low level disorder including throwing missiles at officers.'
They confirmed that two women were arrested on suspicion of burglary after being found inside a shop in Brixton. The shop front had been smashed.
Meanwhile, in Glasgow, more than 300 people gathered in the city centre for street party, organised on Twitter.
Members of organisations including the Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation, the Communist party, the Socialist party, the Socialist Workers party and the International Socialist Group, were joined by members of the public in the city’s George Square.
A chorus of ‘so long, the witch is dead’, along with chants of ‘Maggie Maggie Maggie, dead dead dead,’ could be heard among the popping of champagne bottles.
In Leeds, people cheered and even handed out ‘Maggie death cake’ at another of several street parties across the UK last night.
Happy: A woman drinks from a bottle and holds a front page of a newspaper displaying an image of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as she and others celebrate her death in Brixton, south London
Happy: In south London attendees were carrying banners, with one saying: 'Rejoice, Thatcher is dead'
Macabre celebrations: Champagne was flowing tonight as the Left took to the streets to celebrate the death of former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Jolly affair: The hastily organsied party saw revellers holding signs reading 'Gotcha! Now get the rest'
Youth celebrations: A teenager wears a t-shirt displaying a celebratory message as other members of the public gather in George Square to mark the death of Baroness Margaret Thatcher
Dancing to the beat: They did an impromptu Highland Fling on the pavements of Glasgow - although it was condemned by the city council
Getting underway: As the party got underway revellers handed out party balloons to help the celebrations
In west Belfast, a crowd assembled on the streets outside the Sinn Féin office in the Lower Falls road where music was played as people danced and passing motorists sounded their horns.
People were seen huddling in a crowd as they drank and sang to celebrate the 86-year-old's death.
Petrol bombs were thrown at police near Free Derry corner amid celebrations and missiles were also used against the officers.
Martin McGuinness has called on people not to celebrate the death of Baroness Thatcher.
Mr McGuinness, Sinn Fein’s Deputy First Minister at the Northern Ireland Assembly, tweeted: 'Resist celebrating the death of Margaret Thatcher. She was not a peacemaker but it is a mistake to allow her death to poison our minds.'
Unionists like DUP First Minister Peter Robinson have praised her commitment to the Union but Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams accused her of pursuing 'draconian, militaristic' policies which prolonged the conflict.
VIDEO Maggie death cake and free 'celebration drinks' offered at party...
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