The protest was against the imprisonment of the radical Member of Parliament John Wilkes for writing an article that severely criticised King George III.

The incident in Britain entrenched the enduring idiom of "reading the Riot Act to someone", meaning "to reprimand severely", with the added sense of a stern warning.

After one article was published on 23 April 1763 severely attacking George III, the king and his ministers tried to prosecute Wilkes for seditious libel.

Wilkes returned intending to stand as an MP on an anti-government ticket; the government did not issue warrants for his immediate arrest as it did not want to inflame popular support.

He came bottom of the poll of seven candidates, possibly due to his late entry into the race for the position, but he was quickly elected MP for Middlesex where most of his support was located.

He was sentenced by Judge Joseph Yates to a year's imprisonment and fined £500, reduced to 10 months for his time already spent in prison.

With news of his conviction and imprisonment, crowds began assembling just south of the King's Bench Prison on a large open space between Southwark and Lambeth called St George's Fields.

After some soldiers were sent to apprehend him, he was chased to a barn where one of the pursuing troops shot a person inside wearing a red coat.

[4][5] The news of the death only inflamed the crowd, made worse when the JPs addressed the restless mob ordering it to disperse.

In 1770 Wilkes' supporters started a riot at the enactment of Kelly's new play A Word to the Wise at the Drury Lane Theatre forcing the performances to cease.