Million Mask 'March' erupts in violence

By Alastair Good

The protest started out calmly with a few thousand people gathered in Trafalgar Square, most wearing masks, but chatting freely with police liaison officers who were handing out leaflets advising those taking part that the route for their march was restricted with static points at Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square and a protest corridor along Whitehall.

Sometime after six pm a small group started to head down Whitehall with the rest of the people gathered in Trafalgar Square following on behind. When they got to Parliament Square some of the protesters broke off and headed down a side street, in contravention of the restrictions.

Police soon formed a line across the street and faced down the angry protesters. A few hundred protesters surged against the police line and were pushed back with fights breaking out as officers tried to hold the line. There were moments when it seemed the police line would break but officers responded to the pressing crowd with batons, hitting those at the front to force them back.

Protesters eventually gave up trying to get down that street and headed to the Houses of Parliament when they briefly stopped traffic and set off some fireworks.

Meanwhile back at Trafalgar Square a second group left the square and headed out into the city’s west end with police trailing behind. In Leicester Square the premier for the Hunger Games film was being held and it was hard to tell if the fireworks exploding across the square were being set off by the protesters or those organising the film opening.

Eventually they made their way to Buckingham Palace where a line of police on horseback charged the protesters three times to force them back before being defeated by fireworks that were thrown at them and scared the horses. At least one police officer was thrown from their startled horse.

The group of a few hundred then ran through Green Park back into the West End being stopped occasionally by police lines which crumbled under the weight of numbers. A few people were arrested but the main body of the group ran through the city, turning over rubbish bins and on at least two occasions smashing shop windows.

Around 2100 they decided to head back to Trafalgar Square where the police followed them before setting up a cordon and ‘kettling’ those inside the square. It seems that the only time police were able to contain the protest was when those attending decided to head back to the square./Agencies