Ex-nurse ranted about ‘hanging doctors and nurses’ in Trafalgar Square speech – here’s how Twitter responded

We’re used to anti-vaxxers spouting some pretty stomach-churning bile, but one London protester has taken her rants to a whole other level.

A woman, understood to be proud conspiracy theorist Kate Shemirani, stood on the steps of Trafalgar Square on Saturday to address a mass gathering of demonstrators marching against Covid restrictions and vaccines.

Shemirani is an ex-health worker who was struck off the nursing register last month for denying the existence of coronavirus and discouraging people from getting jabbed.

In her furious speech – recordings of which have been widely shared on social media – the mother-of-four turned against members of her former profession, comparing NHS staff to those in Nazi Germany who were hung for their crimes.

She told the clamouring throng: "Ask those that are giving [the Covid vaccine], has there been any deaths?

"Ask them what is in it. Ask them, get their names, you email them to me... with a group of lawyers we are collating all that.

"At the Nuremberg trials, the doctors and nurses stood trial and they hung."

Then, as people in the crowd whistled and cheered, she added: "If you are a doctor or a nurse, now is the time to get off that bus, get off and stand with us, the people."

Her unconscionable message was met with a fierce backlash online as Twitter users flocked to condemn the comments and voice their support for all NHS staff.

The hashtag “#gotyourbackNHS” was one of the platform’s top trends over the weekend and on Monday morning after ICU doctor Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden tweeted:

Here’s how other supporters, including the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan, responded:

After the mayor said he had raised the matter directly with the Metropolitan Police, the force said in a statement that it was “aware of a video circulating on social media” and that officers were “carrying out inquiries to establish whether any offences have been committed” but “no arrests have been made."

Thousands of protesters gathered in central London on Saturday for a so-called “Worldwide rally for freedom" – five days after most lockdown rules were lifted in England.

Conspiracy theorists David Icke, Gillian McKeith and Piers Corbyn were among the speakers at the demonstration in Trafalgar Square.

The event also attracted far-right commentator Katie Hopkins, who was deported from Australia earlier this week after boasting about her plans to flout quarantine rules.

At the end of the rally, protesters marched from Trafalgar Square along Whitehall to Parliament Square.

Police said one demonstrator was arrested outside Downing Street after throwing a bottle at officers.

Commander Catherine Roper tweeted: “Violence will not be tolerated. We encourage the remaining crowd to continue their demonstration peacefully.”

Similar demonstrations were held in Belfast, Birmingham, Manchester, and Dublin where hundreds of protesters chanted “shame on you” at police officers.

The organisers of the “World Wide Rally for Freedom” claimed that protests would take place in more than 180 cities across the world.

They said they were protesting against continued coronavirus restrictions, mask rules, compulsory vaccinations and vaccine passports.

“Authoritarian coronavirus restrictions have damaged our lives more than any virus has,” the group announced in a statement.

“And even if the effects of the virus were more damaging, the restrictions to our freedoms would still have been unjust and unlawful.”