Police have made arrests as protesters marched around central London on Monday evening to campaign after the death of Sarah Everard.
Demonstrators were given an ultimatum to go home or be arrested as dozens were stopped over breaching coronavirus restrictions.
One female protester told officers she was in her local area and had been going home before she was detained.
Another demonstrator was placed in handcuffs while fellow campaigners shouted "don't kneel on his neck".
Police earlier warned demonstrators they would take “enforcement action” after hundreds of people blocked Westminster Bridge as MPs debated new policing legislation that would give officers more powers to crack down on protests.
Crowds had gathered in the afternoon in nearby Parliament Square for a vigil in memory of Ms Everard, holding placards with slogans including “silence will not protect us” and “women matter”.
Chants of “sisters united will never be defeated” rang out and the crowd listened to speeches as dozens of police officers watched on.
Speakers at the rally also railed against the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill and Scotland Yard’s handling of a vigil on Saturday, when officers clashed with crowds gathered on Clapham Common.
Later a large number of protesters marched onto Westminster Bridge and blocked traffic. Hundreds of campaigners chanted and held banners while police officers halted oncoming cars.
They then moved outside nearby Scotland Yard where they chanted “shame on you” and “our streets”. Protesters sat down on the road and shouted “we will not be silenced” as police officers watched on.
At 7.20pm the Met said that protestors were moving down Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square. “Officers continue to engage and for everyone’s safety we encourage people to go home,” the force tweeted.
Soon afterwards police urged protesters to leave "immediately", warning that "enforcement activity" will take place shortly.
A tweet from the Metropolitan Police Events account said: "Officers continue to engage with the crowds causing disruption in central London, however we will shortly being moving towards enforcement activity.
"Please can we ask people to head home immediately."
Officers continue to engage with the crowds causing disruption in central London, however we will shortly being moving towards enforcement activity. Please can we ask people to head home immediately’.
— Metropolitan Police Events (@MetPoliceEvents) March 15, 2021
Earlier Home Secretary Priti Patel had urged people not to “participate in large gatherings or attend protests” while coronavirus restrictions remained in force.
She said footage of the Clapham Common event was “upsetting” but defended restrictions on protests put in place to curb the spread of Covid-19.
In a Commons statement she added that “too many” women felt unsafe in public.
Ms Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was found in Kent woodland last week after she went missing in south London on March 3.
A serving Met police officer has been charged with her kidnap and murder.
Boris Johnson was chairing a meeting of the Government’s Crime and Justice Taskforce on Monday to discuss ways to protect women and girls from violence, with Dame Cressida and Ms Patel among those attending.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister said he still had confidence in Dame Cressida.
He told reporters in Coventry: “Yes I do. And what she’s asked is… that we look at what happened on Saturday night.
“The police do have a very, very difficult job. But there’s no question that the scenes that we saw were very distressing and so it is right that Tom Winsor, the inspector of constabulary, should do a full report into it.
“I think people have got to have confidence in the police and Tom’s going to look at that.”
Mr Johnson said society and the Government needed to ensure that women’s complaints about violence are properly heard.
He said “the fundamental issue that we have to address as a country, and as a society and as a Government, is that … women in particular must feel that when they make serious complaints about violence, about assault, that they are properly heard.
“We are going to make sure that that happens.”
In the Commons, Ms Patel referred to experiences shared by women in the wake of Ms Everard’s disappearance.
“Too many of us have walked home from school or work alone, only to hear footsteps uncomfortably close behind us.
“Too many of us have pretended to be on the phone to a friend to scare someone off.
“Too many of us have clutched our keys in our fist in case we need to defend ourselves and that is not OK.
“Women and girls must feel safe whilst walking our streets, that is why we have continued to take action.”
Ms Patel has asked Sir Thomas Winsor, chief inspector of constabulary, to conduct a “lessons learned” review into the policing of the vigil.
But she urged people not to “participate in large gatherings or attend protests” while coronavirus restrictions remained in force.
“The right to protest is the cornerstone of our democracy, but the Government’s duty remains to prevent more lives being lost during this pandemic.”
Calls for Dame Cressida to resign were led by Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, while Women’s Equality Party co-founder Catherine Mayer said her position was “untenable”.
A YouGov poll of 5,168 adults indicated 47% backed Dame Cressida to remain in post, with 23% calling for her to go.
Ahead of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill debate, Sir Keir Starmer said the legislation did not include anything “meaningful” on protecting women and girls.
“We have got a 300-page Bill coming before Parliament, with 176 clauses of 20 schedules,” the Labour leader told reporters.
“It says lots of things about statues and almost nothing about protecting women and girls, and particularly dealing with violence against women and girls.”
But Ms Patel said Labour’s stance meant the Opposition will be voting “against measures to support victims of violent crimes, including young women and girls”.
Reclaim These Streets had organised the vigil before being forced to cancel following consultation with Scotland Yard, which said the event would be in breach of coronavirus rules.
An organiser from Reclaim These Streets said on Monday she did not want Dame Cressida to resign, but asked for the police chief to meet the group.
Anna Birley told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “We are a movement of women seeking to support and empower other women, and as one of the most senior women in British policing history, we do not want to add to the pile-on.”
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner said what had happened to Ms Everard made her “more determined, not less” to lead the organisation, as she resisted calls to quit over the events.
Four people were arrested for public order and coronavirus regulation breaches at the Clapham Common event on Saturday, the Met said.
Hundreds of women have left floral tributes in the park near to the route where Ms Everard walked.
Throughout Monday, mourners arrived from across the capital to leave flowers and cards on the bandstand at Clapham Common.
