Four counter-demonstrators have been arrested at a Ukip protest, the Metropolitan Police has said.
The protest was moved nine miles from Tower Hamlets following a ban imposed by Scotland Yard.
The force imposed restrictions on Tuesday amid concerns of a “realistic prospect of serious disorder” due to the borough’s large Muslim population.
Protesters and counter-protesters instead gathered in Kensington, West London.
Around 75 Ukip supporters assembled in front of the London Oratory, with images from the scene showing protesters holding a banner which said: “Islamist invaders not welcome in Britain.”
The Metropolitan Police has since confirmed that four counter-protesters who appeared along the route in breach of conditions had been arrested after refusing to leave.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Four counter protesters who appeared along the route in breach of the conditions in place and refused to leave have been arrested.”
However, the force also stressed that no arrests had been made at the main location of the counter-demonstration in Whitechapel.
Protesters taking part in a counter-protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), were restricted from gathering in an area of Central London, including where the Ukip protest was due to take place.
Around 75 Ukip supporters assembled in front of the London Oratory
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PA
Officers remain deployed along the march to prevent serious disorder and ensure the route remains clear.
Ukip’s demonstration is part of a series of events taking place across the UK, which were promoted as a “mass deportations tour”, with organisers calling on attendees to “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists”
Meanwhile, a group of masked Muslim youths assembled as part of a counter-demonstration.
Ahead of today’s protest, hard-right Ukip leader Nick Tenconi said: “We will confront the communists at Hyde Park Corner.
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Ahead of today’s protest, hard-right Ukip leader Nick Tenconi said: ‘We will confront the communists at Hyde Park Corner.’
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PA
“We will march to Marble Arch and I will give my historic address with the communists and Islamists flaying in the background outraged that we have once and for all finally stood up to them.
“They will be met with Christian courage and it will be glorious. Patriots, this is just the beginning. Saturday, October 25. The Crusade begins.”
Commander Nick John, who is in charge of public order policing in London this weekend, said: “Our role in relation to the policing of protest is to ensure that they take place peacefully, that offences are dealt with, that they do not cause excessive disruption to the ordinary lives of local residents, visitors and businesses and to ensure that where there is a prospect of disorder we take action to prevent it.
“The risk of such disorder can be elevated if groups with clearly opposing views are allowed to gather in close proximity to each other, particularly if they do so in the heart of a residential area at a time when tensions and fears in relation to hate crime and similar offences are heightened.
Ukip party leader Nick Tenconi addresses a rally at Marble Arch
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“We intervened earlier this week to use our powers under the Public Order Act to prevent a protest taking place in Whitechapel due to the prospect of serious disorder.
“This was not a ‘ban’ as it has been described in some coverage and commentary, but a requirement for the protest to move if it was to go ahead.
“We have used the same power on many occasions over the past two years when policing demonstrations by various groups.”
Scotland Yard’s conditions, as per the Public Order Act, also ban members of the Ukip march from protesting before 1pm or after 4.30pm.
People take part in a march in central London, organised by Ukip
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GETTY
The decision to ban Ukip from marching in Whitechapel, where 42.1 per cent of residents identified as Muslim, was welcomed in the local area.
Counter-protesters compared the planned demonstration to the 1936 Battle of Cable Street.
The Battle of Cable Street, which is also located in Whitechapel, witnessed members of the British Union of Fascists descending on the area, which was then known for having a large Jewish population.
Lutfur Rahman, the current mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: “We will still hold our peaceful march in Whitechapel on Saturday to celebrate our diversity and unity. From the Battle of Cable Street to today, the far-right has never succeeded in dividing our community, and they never will.”
