Six arrests follow UKIP march and counter protest

Six people have been arrested following a planned UKIP march and counter protest that took place earlier in Liverpool city centre.

Merseyside Police said it was given advance notice of the UKIP procession, so it deployed a large police presence "to ensure the safety of all those taking part and the wider public".

The force said people from different groups gathered outside Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral from around 10:00 GMT ahead of the march down Mount Pleasant to Lime Street station.

Ch Supt Zoe Thornton said that although "the vast majority of people who attended did so lawfully and peacefully" they arrested six people with three of them taken into custody.

A Section 60 Order was introduced at 08:00 and will remain in place until 21:00, giving officers additional powers to search people suspected of involvement in criminality and disorder.

This also includes a Section 60AA authorisation, meaning failure to remove a face covering when asked by an officer could result in arrest.

Any face covering can also be seized by a police officer.

Contrary to some social media speculation, a Section 35 Dispersal Zone was not introduced, the spokesperson added.

Of the six people arrested, three remain in custody:

• A 45-year-old Ormskirk man arrested on suspicion of breach of the peace
• A 26-year-old man from Netherton arrested for breach of bail conditions
• A 24-year-old man from Bangor was arrested on suspicion of being a public assembly participant failing to comply with a condition (breach of a Section 60AA order).

Thornton added: "As a police force, we must uphold everyone's rights to protest peacefully, while also aiming to keep the peace and ensure the public are safe.

"We make detailed and co-ordinated plans ahead of such events to ensure we can apply this consistently, fairly and proportionately.

"We would like to thank members of the public for their patience throughout the day."

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