Far-right anti-immigration protests in London lead to clashes with police

CNN:

Police officers were “attacked with projectiles” and “assaulted” during far-right anti-immigration protests in London on Saturday, the British capital’s force said, as more than 110,000 people took to the city’s streets.

The Unite the Kingdom protest was organized by far-right political activist Tommy Robinson. Counter-protesters also flocked to the British capital.

The Metropolitan Police Service said on social media on Saturday that the reported attacks happened after demonstrators at the Unite the Kingdom march breached a “sterile area” put in place to keep protesters and counter-protesters apart.

In a later social media post, the force said: “Officers are having to intervene in multiple locations to stop Unite the Kingdom protesters trying to access sterile areas, breach police cordons or get to opposing groups. A number of officers have been assaulted.”

The service said that 26 officers were injured in the clashes and 25 people were arrested.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist condemned the “wholly unacceptable” attacks in a statement.

“Our post-event investigation has already begun – we are identifying those who were involved in the disorder and they can expect to face robust police action in the coming days and weeks,” Twist said.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also said that “violence and attacking police officers is completely unacceptable.”