Oxford Street disorder: Suella Braverman wants culprits to be hunted down

One man was held down by three officers outside a shop on a side street

Those responsible for the disorder seen in London's Oxford Street area should be "hunted down and locked up", Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said.

"We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK," Mrs Braverman said on X.

On Wednesday, baton-wielding police clashed with dozens of people while officers on horseback dispersed crowds.

The Metropolitan Police said nine arrests were made.

The force said it had handed out 34 dispersal orders, which enable police to exclude people from the area. A wider Section 35 dispersal order covering a large area of the West End is in effect until 07:00 BST on Friday.

Trouble broke out after social media videos urged people to turn up and cause disruption on Oxford Street.

"The police have my full backing to do whatever necessary to ensure public order. Those responsible must be hunted down and locked up," Mrs Braverman said.

"I expect nothing less from the Metropolitan Police and have requested a full incident report."

The disorder followed recent disturbances near the seafront in Southend, Essex.

Police have issued similar dispersal orders in the town after social media posts encouraged people to gather there and "get lit".

Disorder broke out on Wednesday afternoon and into the evening

There was a large police presence in Oxford Street on Wednesday afternoon, with mounted officers and police vans on the road and on side streets.

Young people gathered in groups, mixing in with tourists and shoppers - with some filming or looking on bemused.

Some shops on Oxford Street and Regent Street closed their barriers as attempts were made to get inside. At those that stayed open, security guards stood at the entrances deciding who could go in.

Inside Oxford Circus Tube station, officers were stopping young men at the ticket barriers to speak to them.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had urged people who had seen the videos on social media not to go to Oxford Street, saying: "Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be a high-crime area."

By the evening, dozens of young people were seen making their way along Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End.

A McDonald's restaurant and a gift shop were briefly attacked and several fights broke out among those gathered. The owner of a convenience store in Soho fought off about a dozen young people after they stormed his shop allegedly trying to steal items.

As a result of patrols across the day, the Met Police said one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, one for a public order offence and four others on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order.

The force added that two people were also arrested in Essex on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery "following online social media posts".

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