MY FRIEND said the “unite for freedom” march on Saturday April 24 was the best he had ever been on. He loved the camaraderie and the absence of fear, which has beset us as a country during the pandemic.

“Stand up, take your freedom back!” chanted the unmasked would-be liberation movement of thousands in London. The crowd was diverse, my friend insisted — young and old, people from all over Britain. On social media I saw Union Jacks, England flags.

One man had a T-shirt with the words “hugging heals” written on the back. “It was great, positive vibes throughout, it was wonderful to see so many people uniting in the interests of true rights and freedoms,” said Youtuber and “conscious music” DJ Mark Devlin in a video published on Sunday. He compared the march organisation to how acid raves were organised in the late ’80s, with no central co-ordination.