Anti-racism protests have taken place in London, Glasgow and elsewhere in the UK for the fourth consecutive week amid growing calls for systemic change. In London, demonstrators demanded the removal of Boris Johnson’s adviser Munira Mirza as setting up the new race inequality commission because she has cast doubt on the existence of institutional racism and condemned previous inquiries for fostering a “culture of grievance”. At Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park in west London on Saturday, protest organiser Imarn Ayton called for Mirza’s removal and told attendees that giving her the role was a grave mistake before thousands marched on Parliament Square. “Boris Johnson has responded to our cry, Boris Johnson has heard our cry and he has responded with a new race inequality commission,” she said. “We appreciate a response, we like a response, but we know that a grave mistake has been made, a catastrophic mistake has been made. Boris Johnson has appointed a lady called Munira Mirza to [set up] our race inequality commission. “This is a woman who does not believe in institutional racism – she has argued it is more of a perception than a reality.” Tash, 23, joined the protests for the first time on Saturday and described her own experience of racism growing up in London. “I’ve been asked what slave country I come from – in all seriousness – and I just think: ‘How do I respond to that?’” she said. A 23-year-old who only gave her name as Victoria, and was attending her third BLM demonstration, said: “When I come to these protests it is such a release, it almost feels like peace - you have family, you have people who want to understand and it’s like a community.” Protesters chanted “Munira Mirza must go” as they marched through central London. But there was no repeat of the events of last Saturday, when far-right counter-protesters congregated, purportedly to defend statues, and clashed with police. It led the prime minister to condemn the violence as “racist thuggery”, adding: “Racism has no part in the UK and we must work together to make that a reality.” On Saturday, officers were pictured standing around the statue of Winston Churchill and a barrier was in place in front of the Cenotaph, but protesters still gathered on Trafalgar Square. Tensions flared briefly as the rally was due to end after a man was stopped for allegedly racially abusing a black police officer, he was arrested and organisers pleaded protesters to allow police to take him away. In Glasgow, more than 500 people joined an anti-fascist protest in what was described as a “beautiful display of unity and determination”, despite police warnings to stay away as people should only leave home “for very limited purposes” because of coronavirus. Saturday was World Refugee Day. In Glasgow, protesters chanted: “Refugees are welcome here” and knelt in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Later, names of people who had died in police custody were read out and attendees chanted “no justice, no peace, no racist police”. Police horses and riot officers were deployed to control the arrival of protesters from the Green Brigade, a Celtic FC ultra group, in George Square. Police kettled a large number of demonstrators from 12.30pm in an attempt to disrupt the protest, given that there had been violence from a far-right group on Wednesday. But peaceful protesters who had been physically distanced on Saturday complained that the event was overpoliced. Ch Supt Alan Murray, said: “We identified a group as football risk supporters, who we believed posed a threat to public safety. We spoke with this group and, at their request, escorted them to the Gallowgate area of the city where they dispersed.” It later emerged a 42-year-old man had been arrested for obstructing police. Separately, a small group of about 50 loyalists were being kept apart from the demonstration by officers. In Edinburgh, a protest at St Andrew Square was held at the statue of Henry Dundas, who delayed the abolition of the slave trade. Debate is raging over Britain’s imperialist past, frustration about the focus on “white” history in the curriculum and figures showing police disproportionately searching and using force against people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.