A police officer was allegedly punched in the face and four people arrested as an anti-asylum protest in east London turned violent on Sunday.
The Metropolitan Police said officers had been facilitating what began as a peaceful march along Manchester Road and Westferry Road on the Isle of Dogs before “a small number of masked protesters became aggressive towards members of the public and police.”
The protest, involving between 50 and 100 demonstrators, began outside the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf on Sunday afternoon. Some participants carried union flags and placards opposing the housing of asylum seekers.
Shortly after 4:30pm, the group moved into Canary Wharf shopping centre. Officers said arrests were made for assault on a member of the public, assault on police, possession of class A and B drugs, public order offences, and failure to comply with dispersal orders.
The Met confirmed: “One of our officers was punched in the face – luckily they did not suffer significant injury.”
In response, police imposed a Section 60AA order to prevent people concealing their identity with masks, as well as a Section 35 dispersal order directing protesters to leave the area.