300,000 attend pro-Palestinian march as about 100 counter-protesters arrested

The pro-Palestinian protest came to an end outside the US Embassy in Vauxhall earlier after a long march across central London.

Here's a look back over the key developments:

• The Metropolitan Police estimated that 300,000 people joined the march in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza - organisers said 800,000 attended
• While there is some debate over the exact figure, this would make it the biggest since weekly marches began when the Israel-Gaza war began last month
• Scuffles between counter-protestors and police broke out in several locations, including in Pimlico, Chinatown and near the Cenotaph war memorial
• A total of 126 people were arrested across the day, including members of far-right groups
• Officers also intercepted a group of 150. Arrests were made after some of the fireworks struck officers in the face
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned what he described as "unacceptable scenes" across the day, saying violence "utterly disrespects" the armed forces
• He also criticised what he said were pro-Hamas signs and antisemitic chants among protesters
• Earlier, hundreds of people gathered at the Cenotaph in Whitehall to observe two minutes of silence and commemorate those who gave their lives in service

Saturday's march marked the biggest pro-Palestinian rally in the UK since the Israel-Gaza war began.

Police estimate more than 300,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Organisers believe 800,000 people attended.

This BBC aerial and ground footage from throughout the day highlights some of the main developments.

The Met Police has issued photographs of three people it suspects of antisemitic hate crimes during the protest in London.

One shows a woman carrying a placard on which the Jewish symbol, the Star of David, is shown to incorporate a Swastika.

Two other men are shown in photographs taken apparently during the march.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

All eyes were on the Metropolitan Police after it warned of a "very difficult" day ahead on Saturday.

Earlier this week, the force faced pressure from Home Secretary Suella Braverman to stop the march - but Met chief Sir Mark Rowley said it could only be stopped if there was a threat of serious disorder, and that the "very high threshold" had not been reached.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4's PM programme earlier, the former inspector of constabulary, Zoë Billingham, said Rowley had been "vindicated” in letting the protest go ahead.

"The police have to balance rights of people to express their freedom of speech against the ability of the rest of the communities to go about their day to day business," Billingham said.

Asked about future relations between the Braverman and the force, she said the Met needed to be "operationally independent", adding and that it is "not a job for politicians to tell police how to do their job".

Michael Gove was surrounded by pro-Palestinian protesters shouting "shame on you" at London's Victoria train station on Saturday.

A source close to the levelling up secretary said he was returning from his constituency and had to be taken away in a police van.

Footage posted on social media shows him being ushered through the station by police officers.

The police chief added: "Locating and intercepting suspects in a crowd of the size we saw today will always be challenging, but we were further limited in our ability to do so due to the number of officers we had to deploy, from early in the day, in response to violence from the right wing groups in central London.

"We will soon publish images of some of those we suspect have committed these offences and as we have shown in recent weeks, we will pursue all available lines of enquiry to identify suspects and take action even after the conclusion of protests."

Here's a little bit more detail from Assistant Commissioner Mark Twist's statement.

"Thanks to the considerable efforts of our officers, who put themselves in harm’s way, nobody was able to reach the Cenotaph, which was protected at all times," he said.

But officers were injured on Whitehall as they prevented "a violent crowd" getting to the memorial while a Remembrance service was taking place.

"At the end of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign march, we once again saw breakaway groups behaving in an intimidating manner," he said.

Earlier we reported that officers detained a breakaway group of about 150 people from the pro-Palestinian demonstration.

The statement from the assistant commissioner says the group of 150 were "wearing face coverings and firing fireworks".

He says "arrests were made" after some officers were struck in the face with fireworks.

His statement adds that the Met will be publishing images people suspected to have committed offences, such as showing support for UK proscribed terrorist organisations, including Hamas.

Nine police officers were injured during today's protests, with two requiring hospital treatment, assistant commissioner Matt Twist says.

In a statement, Twist says one officer suffered a fractured elbow and the other a suspected dislocated hip.

"The extreme violence from the right-wing protesters towards the police today was extraordinary and deeply concerning," he says, referring to the group of "largely football hooligans" who "spent most of the day attacking or threatening officers".

We've just had a statement from Labour's shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, who says "both violence and hate crimes" at today's protests "must face the full force of the law".

She's also attacked Rishi Sunak for allowing Suella Braverman to stay in the cabinet.

Cooper says there had been "disgraceful scenes of far-right violence against police officers, and attempts to disrupt Armistice events on a day when we pay our respect to all those who fought and died to protect our freedoms".

She adds: "We have also seen appalling cases of antisemitic hate, intimidation, and support for terrorist groups like Hamas, which must be unequivocally condemned."

The Conservative MP Brendan Clarke-Smith says it is "pathetic" to try to blame the far-right disturbances seen today on Suella Braverman's article in The Times.

Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said: "I've heard some daft takes, but to try and justify this appalling behaviour by blaming an op-ed in The Times, which simply stated the flaming obvious, is pathetic."

Earlier today, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said far-right "scenes of disorder" at the Cenotaph were a "direct result" of Home Secretary Suella Braverman's comments before the march.

Writing in The Times this week, Braverman accused the police of bias. She claimed aggressive right-wing protesters were "rightly met with a stern response" from police, while "pro-Palestinian mobs" were "largely ignored".

She is facing questions about her future after Downing Street effectively disowned the article.

"The police’s job has been made much harder," Khan said on X. "The Met have my full support to take action against anyone found spreading hate and breaking the law."

And in a new article for the Mirror, Khan called for Braverman to step down or be sacked, repeating his assertion that disturbances by far-right protesters in London were "a direct result of the home secretary's words and behaviour."

Khan said that "if she had any honour", Braverman would resign - "and if not Rishi Sunak should sack her" adding "if he doesn't, he's either too weak to do so or he agrees with her".

• Read more: No 10 disowns Suella Braverman article attacking police over protests

Metropolitan PoliceCopyright: Metropolitan Police

We've had another update from the Metropolitan Police to say that officers have detained a breakaway group of around 150 people from the pro-Palestinian demonstration.

The group in Grosvenor Place in Belgravia were firing fireworks and many are wearing face coverings, the force says in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Officers are detaining and searching those involved under Section 60 and 60AA powers, the Met adds.

The Met is using the word detained in its statement, but this may not be the same as being arrested. BBC News is asking the Met for more information.

Away from London, other pro-Palestinian protests have taken place today including in Cardiff and Glasgow.

BBCCopyright: BBC

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

BBCCopyright: BBC

Cabinet minister Michael Gove was earlier surrounded by shouting pro-Palestinian protestors at London's Victoria Station.

A source close to Gove said he had been returning from his constituency and had to be taken away in a police van.

Videos posted on social media appear to show the levelling up secretary being physically ushered through the station by police officers as crowds waving Palestinian flags shouted "shame on you".

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The Metropolitan Police has estimated that about 300,000 people joined the pro-Palestinian demonstration today as it moved from Hyde Park to the US Embassy in Vauxhall.

But there are suggestions this number could be higher.

The PA news agency has quoted one of the organisers of the protest, addressing crowds through a speaker system in Nine Elms, as saying the latest estimate is that "more than 800,000" people joined the demonstration.

BBC News asked Transport for London (TfL) for any real-time passenger data, but it said it did not expect to have figures for Saturday until Sunday at the earliest. This TfL data could give us a clearer idea of the scale of the protest.

What is certain is that today's protest was the biggest demonstration held in the UK since the Israel-Gaza war began last month.