London cab drivers' anger over Boris Johnson 'Luddite' jibe

Police were called to London's City Hall after a security guard was apparently knocked unconscious following a protest by black cab drivers.

Tony Arbour, deputy chairman of the London Assembly, claimed several security staff were "punched, pushed and verbally abused" after disruption at the Mayor's Question Time.

Boris Johnson had earlier been forced to abandon the meeting after taxi drivers began shouting from the public gallery when he branded them "Luddites".

Hundreds of cabbies had gathered at City Hall amid ongoing criticism of Transport for London's handling of regulation for private hire car companies, including the taxi app Uber.

The mayor said he understood there was "anxiety" about the new technology but it would be "profoundly in the interest of the black cab trade.

He added: "Can I just say to all the Luddites in the room who don't want to see new technology," before he was cut off by heckling.

Those scenes overshadowed what appeared to be an admission by the mayor he did not know Police Community Support Officers could be cut across the Met, as revealed by BBC London News on 9 September.