A tense confrontation erupted in a central London park as an Australian journalist reported on homeless encampments before being driven from the area.
In the video shared last month, TalkTV presenter and host of Triggered with Samara Gill described a section of Hyde Park near Marble Arch as “one of the ritziest parts of London, what is meant to be a jewel in the crown for our tourism industry”.
Gill then wandered through the homeless encampments that had sprung up around the park, describing the scene as looking like a “shanty town, somewhat of a slum”.
She said the rough sleepers strewn across the ground on mattresses and cardboard boxes appeared to be “Romanian migrants, some illegal; some here legally”.
“They’ve been pickpocketing up and down the high street, so we believe,” Gill said.
The presenter tried to question the rough sleepers, who protested and covered their faces, to which she responded that it was a “public area, so we can film”.
“It’s like being in a park and them telling me no, this is their house and they want me to leave,” she added in response to a man urging her to move on.
Others in the park appeared to make lewd comments, which Gill said “seems like some sort of sexual threat towards me”.
Later in the video, Gill alleged that “Albanian and Romanian gangs operate in this area, some trailing us right now, doing a circle as we speak; I’m feeling quite intimidated”.
The camera then showed a man in a dark hoodie walking near Gill, before taking exception to being filmed and advancing towards the camera operator with a hand outstretched.
The man appeared to tussle with the camera operator while Gill said, “we’re going to go… I’m calling 999”.
“I’m shaking. He just physically attacked my cameraman,” the presenter said as she left the park.
“We’re actually going to have to get out of here now, we’re going to cut this short.”
It comes as migration has become a political flashpoint in the UK, highlighted during One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s recent visit and podcast with controversial right-wing figure Tommy Robinson.
Ms Hanson and Mr Robinson were filmed walking around his hometown of Luton, Bedfordshire, which has transformed into one of the most multicultural towns in the UK.
“I’m just gobsmacked because I wouldn’t think I was in England,” Ms Hanson said during her tour.
Some locals stopped to take selfies with the controversial Mr Robinson — who has a history of criminal convictions ranging from assault to fraud — while others confronted him.