Sheffield protest: Internal police inquiry finds 'no concerns'

Footage from the protest showed a woman using water to wash her face outside Sheffield Town Hall

Police accused of heavy-handedness at a protest in Sheffield acted with "utmost professionalism", an internal South Yorkshire Police review has found.

Scuffles broke out at the end of the pro-Kurdish protest outside the Town Hall on Sunday, with footage showing some attendees washing their eyes due to the effects of pepper spray.

A man, 44, was arrested on suspicion of an offence under the Terrorism Act.

Enforcement was only carried out as a "final option", the force said.

The internal investigation was carried out after Sheffield TUC contacted the region's Police and Crime Commissioner to lodge a formal complaint about the actions of officers involved.

Eyewitness John Grayson, from South Yorkshire Migration and Asylum Action Group, which was supporting the protest, previously told the BBC that the mood changed at the end of the demonstration when a number of flags were seized by officers.

"People all around me were trying to seize their flags back from the police and it was at that point the police went berserk," he said.

"They started to throw people to the floor, started hitting people with batons and started pepper-spraying people and saying, 'get back'."

The force said 70 minutes of body-worn video footage was reviewed by several senior officers and the internal investigation had now concluded.

Deputy Chief Constable Tim Forber, who reviewed the video, said: "Following this internal review, I am very satisfied our officers carried out their duties with the utmost professionalism and patience.

"Enforcement was only carried out as a final option and I have no concerns with the officers' handling of the situation they faced."

Counter Terrorism Policing North East said the arrested man, from Sheffield, was released under investigation on Sunday evening, with inquiries continuing.