A St George’s Day rally in London descended into chaos today as riot police clashed with crowds and a police horse was attacked near Downing Street.
Mounted officers intervened after a group broke through a police cordon formed to stop people moving past the area that had been allocated for the event.
Footage appeared to show one of the horses being struck by a man with an umbrella during the melee.
The disturbance happened just before the main rally at 3pm, where Tommy Robinson and Laurence Fox were in attendance as crowds sang along to songs including Sweet Caroline.
The Met said officers were forced to respond when a group ‘violently’ forced through police blockades. But it prompted claims of ‘two-tier policing’, with critics suggesting pro-Palestine marchers were treated more favourably.
Officers from the Met Police clashed with protesters who attempted to force their way through police lines
Hundreds of people descended on central London, with many thought to have travelled from across the UK
Some of those who attended the rally dressed up in St George’s fancy dress – including as the patron saint himself
One user wrote on X: ‘Pity you don’t practice this kind of policing when it comes to the abhorrent & disruptive pro-Palestine marches.’
The Met shared a video that appears to show officers forming a cordon but a group, some waving flags and others wearing St George’s flags, pushing past it before two mounted officers on horses intervene.
A spokesman said: ‘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 Met said no further incidents had been reported at the rally.
Among those giving speeches were Tommy Robinson, former leader of the English Defence League, while Laurence Fox – leader of The Reclaim Party – was also in attendance.
The protest took place near the Cenotaph, where a service is held each year on Remembrance Sunday
The mostly male attendees were pictured gathering outside Downing Street
After the initial disorder, police said the event continued as planned and the road was reopened in both directions
Pictures from the scene show officers attempting to regain control of the crowd, many of whom are draped in England flags
Video footage from Whitehall shows protesters shouting at and scuffling with police officers
The Met Police shared a map of the expected protest and instructed those in attendance to remain within the pink area on Richmond Terrace
He was already in London having been acquitted of breaching a dispersal order while attending a pro-Israel protest on November 26 last year.
Robinson was cleared of the charge after it was admitted the dispersal order was possibly unlawful due to it having the wrong date on it.
The court heard Inspector Parker-Phipps, whose laptop battery was ‘dying’ at the time, put the order in place at 10am on November 26, but accidentally dated the form for November 24.
Robinson was arrested at the protest near the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Organisers had announced he was not welcome at the event.
The former EDL leader claimed he was attending the march as ‘a journalist’.
The Met has put a Section 60 order in place in Lambeth and Westminster, allowing them to increase stop and searches, as well as another order which gives officers the power to require removal of face coverings.
After the initial scuffles, the Met said it had reopened traffic and the event is proceeding as planned.
Some of those attending peacefully were seen to have dressed up for the occasion, with one person seen on the back of a horse while wearing a knight’s costume.
