HUNDREDS of Mancunians and Lancastrians held an “illegal picnic” at the steps of the new Peterloo Massacre memorial on Saturday.

Scores of demonstrators marching from towns and cities across Lancashire and Greater Manchester massed at the site of the 1819 massacre in which 18 protesters demanding the vote were murdered.

The latter-day protesters had a picnic during which people were encouraged to take part in an open-microphone session.

Protesters from Extinction Rebellion (ER) joined the local protesters, who held banners that recreated the original banners and slogans of the 19th-century reformers. Many demonstrators wore caps of liberty, the red Jacobin hat that was popular in 1819.

An ER protester, who did not wish to be named, told the Star: “Two hundred years apart from Peterloo and today, the same power of greed and control looks set to not just restrict our rights but to destroy the planet in the process.

“It’s events like this which keep the spirit of resistance burning.”

Sheila and Steve, two retirees who attended the picnic from Collyhurst, told the Star: “We thought it was important to come down and show that the citizens of our city don’t forget the past, even if some so-called politicians would like us to.”