'I can't breathe...' Black lawyer 'pinned down by five court security staff after not taking off his shoes during search'

 Lawyers have threatened to boycott a court after up to five security guards allegedly pinned down a black solicitor and ignored his pleas that he could not breathe.

Defence solicitor Dele Johnson said guards wrestled him to the ground after he refused to take off his shoes in a security search.

Mr Johnson, 37, said it was like the ordeal of George Floyd, whose murder by Minneapolis police, as he protested 'I can't breathe', sparked the Black Lives Matter movement.

'I never thought I'd also be saying 'I can't breathe',' said Mr Johnson. 'I was just trying to do my job.'

The drama follows female lawyers protesting at highly invasive 'pat-down' searches at Stratford Magistrates' Court in east London.