Police arrest 170 at remembrance service in London
A total of 170 people have been arrested following a remembrance service in Whitehall, central London, Scotland Yard has said. They are believed to be English Defence League (EDL) supporters.
The group was held outside the Red Lion pub in Westminster to “prevent a breach of the peace”, Scotland Yard said.
The arrests came around two hours after wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph to commemorate fallen servicemen, and millions of Britons held a two-minute silence to remember the nation’s war dead.
In a statement on its website, the EDL said it was planning to peacefully demonstrate against an expected protest by Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), the militant Islamic group that had burned poppies the previous remembrance day.
Trouble flared last year when the far-right group clashed with MAC outside the Royal Albert Hall.
However MAC was banned by home secretary Theresa May on Thursday and its website said it had disbanded.
No reported disorder
Its leading figure Anjem Choudary said its remembrance day protest over Britain’s foreign policy would now not go ahead.
But police said there were no reports of disorder between opposing groups ahead of the arrests.
On its website, the EDL urged members to leave the police to deal with any MAC members because they were now a banned group.
They also reminded members to dress smartly, not to bring banners and to refrain from alcohol consumption:
“We need to show that the EDL is peaceful and that we as individuals are there to remember the sacrifice of the fallen, not to get involved with any disorder that might bring discredit it to us and our cause.”