300,000 attend pro-Palestinian march as about 100 counter-protesters arrested
With reporting from the protest by Thomas Mackintosh and Callum May in the Met Police control room | Follow live coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here
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Edited by Paul Gribben
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'I am disgusted with the way that our top politicans have got right behind it'
A woman at today's protest told us that she was marching because the situation in Gaza was "absolutely intolerable". She was "absolutely disgusted with the way that all our top politicians, both in Conservative and in Labour, have got right behind it", she said.
She also tells the BBC that she won't be voting for anybody who is not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
"So many children are dying and the Western powers allowing this to continue are absolutely despicable."
Protesters move back to Victoria, singing John Lennon's Imagine
Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the protest
Back in central London and we’ve followed another group of protesters who are pacing back along the route towards Victoria Station.
It’s a much younger crowd in this part, but still in full voice chanting and blasting music out of a sound system - I can hear a rendition of Imagine by John Lennon. Fireworks have been let off from a canon into the night sky.
The crowd are flanked by police either side and backed up by a dozen or so police vans following in formations of three.
Noticeably many more people here have their faces covered, but much like the protest as a whole they remain peaceful.
Criminality utterly disrespects armed forces, Rishi Sunak says
In his statement, Sunak continues by saying that the "despicable actions of a minority of people undermine those who have chosen to express their views peacefully."
The prime minister says that criminality seen today "utterly disrespect" the armed forces.
"That is true for EDL thugs attacking police officers and trespassing on the Cenotaph, and it is true for those singing antisemitic chants and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing on today's protest," Sunak says.
He goes on to call the "fear and intimidation" the Jewish community experienced over the weekend "deplorable".
"All criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law. That is what I told the Met Police Commissioner on Wednesday, that is what they are accountable for and that is what I expect," Sunak says, adding that he will meeting the Met Police Commissioner in the coming days.
BreakingRishi Sunak condemns violence in statement
In the past few minutes, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has released a statement condemning what he describes as "unacceptable scenes".
He says he condemns the "violent, wholly unacceptable scenes we have seen today from the EDL and associated groups and Hamas sympathisers attending the National March for Palestine".
"Remembrance weekend is a time for us to come together as a nation and remember those who fought and died for our freedoms," he adds.
Scuffles and offensive chants in Parliament Square - but no serious disorder
Charlotte Gallagher
Reporting from central London
More now from central London, where police at Parliament Square are keeping pro-Palestinian protesters and about 60 counter-protesters apart on opposite sides of the road.
The statue of Sir Winston Churchill has had a St George’s Cross wrapped around the hand. There have been a few scuffles and offensive chanting but no serious disorder.
Tourists are taking photos of Big Ben and the protesters, many uncertain what is actually happening.
Protesters' fireworks illuminate London night sky
Some pictures now of pro-Palestinian protesters setting off fireworks in Vauxhall, near the end point of today's march.
The Met Police says on X, formerly Twitter, that it is beginning to encourage demonstrators to disperse and make their way home.
Protesters are moving back along march route, and some are dispersing
Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the protest
We’ve finally been able to make it over Vauxhall Bridge to the south of the river, along the protest route.
What strikes me is the amount of people coming back over the bridge - effectively retracing the steps of the march, and then dispersing.
More seem to be making their way back from the US Embassy - the location of the end of the march - towards Victoria station and Westminster.
Chants critical of PM Rishi Sunak are repeated over a megaphone and there is a smoky smell from some flares which have been set off.
I haven't seen any trouble from these crowds of people.
Watch: Aerial footage shows scale of pro-Palestinian protest earlier today
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Missiles thrown and chants of 'send them home' from counter-protesters
Vinnie O'Dowd
Reporting from central London
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More on clashes between counter-protesters and police now.
Earlier today, about 60 counter-protesters were involved in a stand-off with police after they approached a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters on Lambeth Bridge.
In this video you can see missiles being thrown towards officers and chants of "send them home".
Following this short clip, some of the counter-protesters could be heard shouting racial slurs and an offensive chant about Allah.
No arrests made at Waterloo Station after sit-in
No arrests have been made at Waterloo Station following the pro-Palestinian sit-in.
British Transport Police said earlier they were moving to an "arrest phase" at the sit-in, but in a later post on X said: "As we moved to our arrest phase in Waterloo Station, protesters began to disperse.
No arrests were made. "The station is clear now, and passengers are able to use the station as normal."
Clashes at Parliament Square, as counter-protesters snatch Palestinian flag
Vinnie O'Dowd
Reporting from central London
A crowd of roughly 150 counter-protesters are loitering around Parliament square and are approaching people who were at today's pro-Palestinian march.
An offensive chant about Allah has been repeated, and a Palestinian flag was snatched from a protester and ripped up by a group of counter-protesters.
Several counter-protesters have been arrested and the police are using batons on the crowd.
Police say officers have arrested more than 100 people today, the vast majority of them counter-protesters. There are far-right groups including the English Defence League among the counter-protesters.
British Transport Police in 'arrest phase' for protesters at Waterloo station sit-in
Pro-Palestinian protesters are refusing to leave Waterloo station in central London and British Transport Police has moved to an "arrest phase", it says.
It said it got consent to utilise powers under Section 14a of the Public Order Act 1986, which enables officers to make arrests to stop "a trespassory assembly".
This is in force at London Waterloo Station, Charing Cross and Victoria Station, where a similar sit-in was dispersed earlier today.
BreakingMore than 100 arrested, the 'vast majority' of them counter-protesters, police say
Callum May
Reporting from the Met Police control room
Police say 105 arrests have been made so far today - the "vast majority" of them among counter-protesters.
Scotland Yard sources say many of the counter-protesters arrested are connected to football hooliganism, and some of them have previous convictions for football violence.
Children march alongside parents
Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the protest
Throughout the march today, I’ve spotted many families who have brought their children along.
Some have been hoisted onto shoulders waving flags, others are in push chairs or holding a parent's hand.
One mother, who didn’t want to be named, tells me: “I have attended the previous protests in London and they’ve all been peaceful and pleasant.
"I felt it safe to take the kids along today.”
Watch: 'You're not English any more,' counter-protesters chant
Counter-protesters are seen here scuffling with the police earlier today in London's West End.
There are far-right groups among today's counter-protesters. Groups of men following English Defence League founder Stephen Yaxley Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, were seen earlier. He is a known far-right activist.
In this video, counter-protesters can be heard chanting: "You're not English any more."
Police say they have arrested more than 90 counter-protesters today.
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Met seeks two individuals 'wearing Hamas headbands' at protest
We reported earlier that the Met was trying to find people who had been pictured on social media with pro-Hamas slogans.
Now, the Met has responded to a social media post purporting to show two protesters wearing "Hamas headbands". The Met says it is "actively looking" for the two people in the photograph.
Responding to a post on X, which includes a picture of the two people, the Met says it will take "proactive action when they are identified".
Armistice Day the right time to call for ceasefire, protester tells BBC
Meanwhile, the BBC has been speaking to some of those attending today's pro-Palestinian march.
"I am a Christian and God tells us to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. So I just felt absolutely compelled to come today," one woman tells us.
When asked about PM Rishi Sunak's comments that protesting on Armistice Day is disrespectful, she says: "I think it is the perfect day to actually do it on. Because that's what armistice is, it is a call for ceasefire and a call for stopping war."
Why are people protesting today?
The main reason thousands are protesting in London today is to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
On 7 October, Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented assault on Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages.
Israel has responded with air strikes on Gaza and has launched a ground offensive. The Hamas-run health ministry say more than 10,800 people have been killed.
Read what you need to know on the conflict here: What is happening in Israel and Gaza, and what is Hamas?
Police trying to identify people pictured with pro-Hamas slogans
Callum May
Reporting from the Met Police control room
Police in the control room are also examining social media, and say they have seen people at the main protest pictured with pro-Hamas slogans. They are trying to identify these people.
But, unlike the counter-protesters, these people are harder to find and arrest.
Protesters chant 'from the river to the sea' and 'ceasefire now'
Thomas Mackintosh
Reporting from the protest
I’ve been following the march since it started to move at 12:30 GMT.
Protesters have been vocal, using sound systems and megaphones to orchestrate the crowd.
Chants have included “free Palestine", "ceasefire now", "shame on Sunak", "shame on Starmer" and "from the river to the sea".
That last chant refers to the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean. Home Secretary Suella Braverman had previously urged police chiefs to consider interpreting those words as an "expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world".
The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and other activists have contested this, saying the slogan refers to "the right of all Palestinians to freedom, equality and justice".