An event in London marking St George’s Day has escalated into violence between marchers and Metropolitan police officers, some on horse back
Six people have been arrested outside a pub in Whitehall, central London today after a St George’s Day event was held nearby.
One person was arrested on suspicion of assault and three others were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, the Metropolitan Police said. An image was shared on X by the force which shows dozens of officers and multiple police vans near a crowd on a pavement.
The force added on X: “Officers were quickly on scene and order has been restored. The southbound carriageway was briefly blocked but has now been reopened.”
A man was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty after “a police horse was targeted on Whitehall”, the Metropolitan Police said. Another man was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly.
Police in London were “dealing with disorder” at an event marking St George’s Day which is feared to have been attended by far right groups and football hooligans.
Several people were meeting for the march in the Waterloo area earlier today. Some were wearing masks to hide their identities, with police forcing them to remove them.
Now, in disturbing videos shared online by the Met Police, people waving flags and chanting “England til I die” can be seen attempting to push through a wall of officers – including some on horseback – to get to people behind the police. A significant police presence was in the area as tensions threatened to boil over. One of the attendees attacked one of the horses with an umbrella.
Met Police said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The event is not due to start for an hour and regrettably officers are already dealing with disorder. There is an area allocated for this event in Richmond Terrace.
“This group went past it and continued up Whitehall. When officers formed a cordon and asked the group to turn round, they reacted by violently forcing their way through. Mounted officers intervened with horses to restore the cordon.”
The force earlier said: “Later today, an event to mark St George’s Day is expected to take place on Richmond Terrace, off Whitehall. We believe those planning to attend include far right groups and groups linked to football clubs travelling from elsewhere in the UK.
“Additional policing resources, including public order officers, will be deployed in the area to deal with any incidents. They are supported by colleagues from the British Transport Police and the City of London Police. The officers’ primary role is to ensure the safety of participants and the public, but they will not hesitate to respond in the event of disorderly behaviour or other offences.
“We have been in discussions with the organiser of the Richmond Terrace event over recent days. To prevent disorder and to minimise disruption, we have imposed a number of conditions under the Public Order Act. Anyone participating in the event must remain on Richmond Terrace within the area marked in pink on the map below. The event cannot start before 3pm and must finish by 5pm.”
Whitehall has since reopened to traffic in both directions. Police say there have been no further incidents since the earlier altercations.
Several people spoke of their sadness events such as today’s descend into chaos. One person said: “I’m 64 and sad to St George’s day hijacked by the sort of people in this video. It was never like this growing up.”