Anti-greyhound racing protesters storm restaurant as diners left confused

Anti-greyhound racing campaigners from the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade burst into the Hard Rock Café in Westminster last week, brandishing signs and loudspeakers while confused diners looked on.

The black-clad activists, many sporting tattoos, carried placards bearing slogans such as "greyhound racing kills" and "you bet they die" as they descended upon the restaurant.

The demonstration targeted what protesters claimed was the chain's business relationship with SIS, a broadcasting company that streams greyhound racing, horse racing and virtual sports content.

Video footage captured the moment the group entered the venue, with startled diners watching awkwardly as restaurant employees scrambled to manage the sudden intrusion.

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Staff members attempted to remove the demonstrators from the premises, with one employee physically grappling with a female protester and removing her as she yelled "get your hands off me".

Inside the restaurant, a man in a black baseball cap refused to leave despite being firmly directed towards the exit by staff, instead pacing between tables and declaring that eating at the establishment meant "helping kill".

A blue-haired woman wearing a megaphone calmly filmed the commotion as her fellow activists were ejected.

Throughout the disruption, diners remained seated at their tables, visibly unimpressed as their meals were interrupted by the chanting and wailing sirens.

Hours before the Hard Rock Café disruption, the same activist group had targeted the Fendi boutique on Bond Street, where a well-dressed security guard physically confronted demonstrators trying to gain entry.

Viral footage showed protesters with blue and green hair chanting "blood, blood, blood on your hands" through loudspeakers as the guard and a colleague wrestled with those attempting to force their way into the luxury shop.

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One female demonstrator was filmed shouting into a megaphone while barefoot outside the designer store.

Speaking to the Daily Mail two days later, the guard, who declined to be named, said: "I was just doing my job, those people were crazy and I kicked them out."

Video footage from both protests spread rapidly across social media, prompting a range of reactions from users.

One commenter on X quipped: "summer is back, the protest[s] begin again until it gets too cold."

Another user suggested they would have rallied fellow diners to forcibly remove the activists from the Hard Rock Café.

The Fendi security guard attracted particular praise online, with supporters calling for him to receive a pay rise.

"It's nice to see a security guard actually securing," wrote one user, while another cautioned that the man was likely earning minimum wage on a zero-hour contract.

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