Police say 126 people have been arrested so far following today"s protests Matt Twist, assistant commissioner at the Met, has given an update on today’s events, in which 126 people have been arrested so far. In the statement, he calls the extreme violence from rightwing protestors towards the police “extraordinary” and “deeply concerning”. Describing the day’s events, he said: They arrived early, stating they were there to protect monuments, but some were already intoxicated, aggressive and clearly looking for confrontation. Abuse was directed at officers protecting the Cenotaph, including chants of “you’re not English any more”. This group were largely football hooligans from across the UK and spent most of the day attacking or threatening officers who were seeking to prevent them being able to confront the main march. Twist says that many in the groups of far-right protesters were stopped and searched, with weapons including a knife, a baton and knuckleduster and class A drugs being found. He said: “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.” Twist added that nine police officers had been injured on Saturday, with two requiring hospital treatment: one with a fractured elbow and another with a suspected dislocated hip. Those officers were injured on Whitehall as they prevented a violent crowd getting to the Cenotaph while a remembrance service was taking place, he said. Speaking about the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) march, Twist said it had not displayed the sort of physical violence carried out by the rightwing protesters. He said: We know that for London’s Jewish communities, whose fears and concerns we absolutely recognise, the impact of hate crime and in particular antisemitic offences is just as significant. At the end of the PSC march, we once again saw breakaway groups behaving in an intimidating manner. Officers intercepted a group of 150 who were wearing face coverings and firing fireworks. Arrests were made after some of the fireworks struck officers in the face. There were also a number of serious offences identified in relation to hate crime and possible support for proscribed organisations during the protest that we are actively investigating. Commenting on the challenge of policing a crowd of the size that was at the pro-Palestinian march seen today, Twist said that it had been made more difficult by the violence of far-right protesters: 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 rightwing groups in central London. He added that the Met would publish images of some of the suspects soon and vowed to “pursue all available lines of inquiry to identify suspects and take action even after the conclusion of protests”. Twist ends with a reminder that many officers are still deployed across central London, responding to any outbreaks of disorder and ensuring key sites are protected before tomorrow’s remembrance events. Tomorrow’s Remembrance Sunday service will be led by King Charles and wreaths will be laid by members of the royal family, senior politicians and dignitaries at the Cenotaph in London, reports the PA. It’s notable that the number of officers on duty in London is double the usual amount, with 1,375 officers for Sunday. The PA add that the Cenotaph has a dedicated 24-hour police presence until the conclusion of Remembrance events. The Guardian’s video team have produced this piece, speaking to protesters today about why they were marching. Keir Starmer has accused Suella Braverman of spawning “hatred and mistrust” as calls grow for Rishi Sunak to sack his home secretary. Pressure mounted on Braverman amid far-right violence on Saturday, after she branded pro-Palestinian demonstrators “hate marchers” and accused the police of bias for letting the rally go ahead. In a comment piece in the Sunday Telegraph, Starmer wrote: “The home secretary and the prime minister’s treatment of the police and protesters alike this week – coming just a few days after she shamefully described homelessness as ‘a lifestyle choice’ – betray a total lack of respect for this country’s values and its principles. “Few people in public life have done more recently to whip up division, set the British people against one another and sow the seeds of hatred and distrust than Suella Braverman. In doing so, she demeans her office.” In his update, the Met assistant commissioner Matt Twist also notes that “the intense debate about protest and policing” has contributed to the increase in tensions. Police say 126 people have been arrested so far following today"s protests Matt Twist, assistant commissioner at the Met, has given an update on today’s events, in which 126 people have been arrested so far. In the statement, he calls the extreme violence from rightwing protestors towards the police “extraordinary” and “deeply concerning”. Describing the day’s events, he said: They arrived early, stating they were there to protect monuments, but some were already intoxicated, aggressive and clearly looking for confrontation. Abuse was directed at officers protecting the Cenotaph, including chants of “you’re not English any more”. This group were largely football hooligans from across the UK and spent most of the day attacking or threatening officers who were seeking to prevent them being able to confront the main march. Twist says that many in the groups of far-right protesters were stopped and searched, with weapons including a knife, a baton and knuckleduster and class A drugs being found. He said: “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.” Twist added that nine police officers had been injured on Saturday, with two requiring hospital treatment: one with a fractured elbow and another with a suspected dislocated hip. Those officers were injured on Whitehall as they prevented a violent crowd getting to the Cenotaph while a remembrance service was taking place, he said. Speaking about the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) march, Twist said it had not displayed the sort of physical violence carried out by the rightwing protesters. He said: We know that for London’s Jewish communities, whose fears and concerns we absolutely recognise, the impact of hate crime and in particular antisemitic offences is just as significant. At the end of the PSC march, we once again saw breakaway groups behaving in an intimidating manner. Officers intercepted a group of 150 who were wearing face coverings and firing fireworks. Arrests were made after some of the fireworks struck officers in the face. There were also a number of serious offences identified in relation to hate crime and possible support for proscribed organisations during the protest that we are actively investigating. Commenting on the challenge of policing a crowd of the size that was at the pro-Palestinian march seen today, Twist said that it had been made more difficult by the violence of far-right protesters: 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 rightwing groups in central London. He added that the Met would publish images of some of the suspects soon and vowed to “pursue all available lines of inquiry to identify suspects and take action even after the conclusion of protests”. Twist ends with a reminder that many officers are still deployed across central London, responding to any outbreaks of disorder and ensuring key sites are protected before tomorrow’s remembrance events. Michael Gove mobbed by pro-Palestinian protesters in Victoria station Michael Gove has been mobbed by protesters as he walked through London’s Victoria station, moments after a sit-in protest for Palestine ended. Pro-Palestinian protesters chanted “shame on you” as the communities secretary, escorted by police officers, made his way through the concourse. Video footage posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, shows a number of protesters waving flags and surging towards Gove as Metropolitan police officers pushed them away and shouted at them to “get back”. More on the story below. The Campaign Against Antisemitism has released a statement saying that Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, is “failing” Britain’s Jews. It also says that Rowley has “serious questions to answer” about why the march was allowed to take place. The CAA say that the Jewish community is “terrified” and that it is aware of families being targeted on their way out of synagogues. The statement reads: “While we welcome the more significant number of arrests this week, the overall policing policy in relation to these demonstrations is woeful. This march should never have been allowed to go ahead, and Sir Mark Rowley has serious questions to answer. Perhaps he should do so to Britain’s Jews, whom he is failing.” Sadiq Khan has praised police for their handling of Saturday"s protests and violence Sadiq Khan has made a statement on Saturday’s events. In it, he pays tribute to the police for their handling of the protests and condemns cases of far-right violence as well “hate and racism” at the pro-Palestinian march. In the statement, the mayor of London said: I’d like to pay tribute to the Met police who have dealt with a very difficult day with exceptional professionalism. The overwhelming majority of people who used their democratic right to protest on the streets of London today did so peacefully. Sadly however, we have seen far-right thugs attacking the police and some who have used the pro-Palestinian protest to spread hate and racism, including antisemitism. This is unacceptable - as is attempting to intimidate politicians. Khan claimed that the far-right had been “encouraged” and “emboldened” by comments they’d heard this week, including from senior politicians, such as Suella Braverman. He said: I hope everyone takes the time to reflect on the impact their words and actions can have on others. He added that the Met has his full support in taking action against those who broke the law and that he will continue to support them in taking a “zero-tolerance approach” against those found committing violent offences or spreading hate. Anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate have called for Suella Braverman to resign after Saturday’s far-right clashes at the Cenotaph. Nick Lowles, CEO of Hope Not Hate, said that the home secretary has a “responsibility to make all communities feel safe and to prevent a fallout from international events here”. Lowles added that her behaviour over recent weeks had been the “opposite”. He said: “She has inflamed tensions and, as we have seen today, whipped up the far right into a violent frenzy. She’s got to go.” The group, which monitors and campaigns against the far right, say that they had been tracking the movement’s response to the pro-Palestinian demonstrations, but only saw mobilisation after Braverman began to talk about the Cenotaph and Armistice Day. Police have detained 150 pro-Palestinian demonstrators The Metropolitan police say that officers have detained around 150 people from the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Grosvenor Place, Belgravia. The group were firing fireworks and many were wearing face coverings, they stated, adding that officers were using their Section 60 and 60AA powers to detain and search those involved.