Urgent plans to defuse tensions and address fury over disproportionate police action against black and minority ethnic people are being drawn up by the mayor of London, as Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests are expected in dozens of towns and cities by the weekend. The initiative from Sadiq Khan to apply pressure on the Metropolitan police, the UK’s largest force, over the use of stop and search, Tasers and other practices comes amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus in crowds, and fears of violence as it emerged that far-right groups were planning counter-demonstrations. Steps to address anger over systemic racism, brought into sharp focus after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, contrast with UK ministers’ rhetoric and pressure from Tory backbenchers for police and prosecutors to crack down on disorder. Boris Johnson acknowledged the “incontrovertible, undeniable feeling of injustice” behind the BLM protests, in an article for the black newspaper the Voice, in which he also strongly condemned those who have flouted social distancing to attend them. He wrote that he would not support such action “for the obvious reason that we risk a new infection at a critical time and just as we have made huge progress”, adding that: “Those who attack public property or the police – who injure the police officers who are trying to keep us all safe – those people will face the full force of the law.” On Monday, the home secretary, Priti Patel, repeated her condemnation of “vandalism” by “thugs and criminals” following 200 BLM protests over the weekend, during which demonstrators toppled a statue of a 17th-century slave trader in Bristol and daubed graffiti on a statue of Winston Churchill in the capital. She said 137,500 people attended the protests and there were 135 arrests, with 35 police officers injured in London. Tory backbenchers urged Patel to ensure those who took part in disorder in London at the weekend would “face the full force of the law”. Police union representatives called for an apology for what they said was a failure to protect officers against injury, while senior police chiefs issued a warning to would-be protesters. “Sadly, there is a small minority of people who want to use these protests as an excuse for violence and disorder. This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated, nor will attacks on police officers, who are there to keep people safe,” said BJ Harrington, a chief constable who is part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council. Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said it was “completely wrong” for protesters to pull down a statue of Edward Colston and dump it in the harbour in Bristol – putting him at odds with some MPs on the left of his party – while emphasising the monument should never have been there in the first place. Khan said the focus should be on rooting out systemic racism, discrimination and inequality from society as he called for “a clear commitment to change”. While the Labour mayor cannot order the Met to curtail stop and search or the use of Tasers, he wields political influence over the force, and the Met’s strategy often influences other forces. Home Office data shows black people in England and Wales were 9.5 times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched in 2017-18. Met police officers were four times more likely to use force against black people compared with white people, according to Scotland Yard data from 2018. Figures last week revealed officers enforcing the coronavirus lockdown were more than twice as likely to issue fines to black people as to white people. After discussions with community leaders Khan has asked two of his deputies to take the measures forward. He said: “We must capitalise on this moment of change and that’s why I have now tasked City Hall officials to work on an urgent new action plan to be developed with community groups and the police, but all public bodies need to change. “The plan will look to improve trust and confidence as well as transparency, and is intended to cover how our communities can better scrutinise policy and tactics that are still a source of concern in 2020.” In the West Midlands, where BLM protests closed part of the M6 on Sunday night, the police and crime commissioner, David Jamieson, said he would convene a meeting of community leaders on Thursday to hear concerns that would be passed on to police. A public order policing expert warned of the risk of serious rioting if police were pressured into taking a heavier hand with protesters. Clifford Stott, a professor at Keele University who has advised the Home Office on public order strategy, said: “The potential as we move on is for widespread rioting and what we are trying to avoid at the moment is a major escalation of public discontent, which is quite clearly there given the levels of mobilisation that are going on. “Those levels of mobilisation are very much about police action towards the black community. If we are to ignite a situation where police action is seen to be acting disproportionately again towards that community we are in very dangerous territory indeed.” After police stood by and watched the statue toppled in Bristol, the focus will shift on Tuesday to Oxford, where hundreds of students and residents are expected to attend a protest calling for the removal of Oxford University’s statue of the colonialist Cecil Rhodes. “What happened in Bristol is the catalyst for this protest,” said Femi Nylander, an organiser for Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford. “We’re seeing a global surge against anti-blackness which has allowed us to rejuvenate that debate. It’s what we saw with Colston – it was Black Lives Matter who took down that statue of a slave owner. We’re reaffirming our demands to Oxford that they should themselves take this down as a matter of principle and matter of urgency.” The campaign group’s demand was backed by the Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran. She said: “The statues of white supremacists and slave merchants should not still be standing in our cities. That’s why the statue of Cecil Rhodes must come down.” The MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said she was not not endorsing vigilante action, but urged Oriel College “to think about what message this statue sends in 2020, and to remove it”. Thames Valley police said they supported the public’s right to peaceful protest. As well as the action in Bristol, tens of thousands of people attended protests across the UK on Sunday. In London, where an estimated 10,000 demonstrated outside the US embassy, protesters were criticised for spraying the word “racist” on a Churchill statue. One protester, 17-year-old Edan from north London, said she was energised by the protests and hoped to see more. “I thought the protest was amazing. I went both on Saturday and Sunday. It was incredible to see so many people calling for justice, but it’s been disappointing to see politicians focus on violence. “The way the right has reacted to the protest has been ridiculous, especially their defence of these racist statues and the policing. They are proof of how much these protests are needed in the first place.” New BLM protests and coordinated actions are planned for at least 25 cities across the UK this week, with concerns voiced by the anti-racism campaign group Hope not Hate that football fans who have previously clashed with anti-fascist campaigners are planning to travel to London on Saturday to confront demonstrators. Organised by the Democratic Football Lads Alliance, a network that emerged after the 2017 terrorist attacks, supporters from areas including Sunderland, Yorkshire, the West Midlands and East Anglia intend to surround and protect war memorials and other statues in central London. Football fans were urged on by the former leader of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon), who released a video angrily denouncing the defacement of the Churchill statue.