Newcastle Black Lives Matter counter-protest: Police officers injured

Police officers formed barriers between protesters and counter-protesters

Police and protesters have been injured during confrontations between counter-protesters and a Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstration in Newcastle.

Bottle and flares were thrown at Grey's Monument on Saturday, with counter-protesters later targeting officers, Northumbria Police said.

Assistant Chief Constable Scott Hall said it was "completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated".

Eleven people have been arrested, largely for public order offences.

"The right to lawful protest is a key part of any democracy, which we will uphold and facilitate," Mr Hall said.

"However, we will not accept people using them as a means to commit crime."

The counter-protesters initially outnumbered the BLM demonstrators

The force said public safety was its "utmost priority" and it had provided a "proportionate" response to the protests.

"The protest activity had in the main passed without incident, with the exception of a small number of objects being thrown between the protesters," Mr Hall said.

"However, as the demonstrations were drawing to a close, members of the counter-protest again started throwing objects, with the police targeted."

A small number of protesters and officers were hurt, though not seriously, the force said.

Three police horses and two force dogs were also hurt.

Black Lives Matter protesters congregated on Grey Street in Newcastle

A crowd of about 250 counter-protesters had gathered around Grey's Monument, ahead of the official noon start time of the BLM protest at the top of Grey Street.

By early afternoon the two groups were largely equal in size.

Some protesters opposing the BLM supporters said the anti-racists were "brainwashed hypocrites".

Some had brought union jacks and St George Cross flags and said they were "defending" the city and Earl Grey's statue.

Yunus Bakhsh from North East Against Racism said: "We're not looking to have a confrontation with them; we're here to make our point about Black Lives Matter and about the endemic racism that we're seeing in society."

Some veterans joined counter-protesters wanting to "defend" Grey's Monument and the nearby war memorial