Masked protesters had clashed with rivals outside an Islington hotel housing asylum seekers. This led to nine arrests by The Metropolitan Police.
Police were forced to intervene after brief clashes broke out between both groups outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington.
A large group of masked protesters dressed in black and chanting “we are anti-fascist” marched from a side street towards the main demonstration, prompting officers to rush in and separate the two sides.
The Met Police said there had been nine arrests, including seven on suspicion of breaching Public Order Act conditions.
The police said a 33-year-old man who was part of the anti-immigration demonstration was arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence.
A further eight counter-protesters were also arrested.
A 22-year-old woman was arrested for simply expressing support for Palestine Action.
A further three men, aged 30, 21 and 28, and three women, aged 43, 33 and 21, were arrested for breaching the Public Order Act conditions in place.
A 21-year-old man was arrested for breaching the Public Order Act conditions in place, as well as two cases of assaulting an emergency worker.
A counter protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism and supported by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as well as other groups including Finsbury Park Mosque and Islington Labour Party, also took place.
Some counter protesters spoke to The Evening standard about the protest and their views.
Joel said “Islington is a multicultural area of London. The fascists want to intimidate people and they want to come down and say asylum seekers are the root cause of all the problems of the world, but it’s not the case.”
He added that “We want to show that the racists [and] the fascists are out there to intimidate people. We have to stand together.
“We always need more people [to protest], we have to give confidence to people that we are a multicultural city.
“Without the input of people from all over the world, the fashion industry, the food – all the elements of London would be nothing without people from all parts of the world.”
He would continue, saying: “I’m proud to live in London, we want to see more people [who] will be welcome. It’s not about attacking the fascists, it’s about standing together.”
