Police fire pepper spray inside a shopping centre and an officer was punched in the face as violence broke out during anti-asylum protests in Canary Wharf.
See latest: Canary Wharf anti-migrant protesters accuse Met of 'heavy-handed' policing after shopping centre chaos
Masked men became “aggressive” as a group of 50 to 100 of them marched on a nearby shopping centre in east London at around 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon.
The Metropolitan Police had issued a Section 60AA order to “prevent people concealing their identity with masks” after facilitating peaceful protests on the Isle of Dogs.
Demonstrators carrying Union flags and placards earlier assembled outside the Britannia International Hotel in Marsh Wall.
Videos on social media show young children among the protesters, with some wearing England flags and they were joined by The Pink Ladies group.
A force spokesman said the youngsters’ safety is paramount “while we deal with any criminality”.
Around 100 counter-protesters held banners bearing the words “stand up to racism” and “stop the far right”.
Journalist Jack Hadfield was caught in the crossfire when police deployed synthetic pepper spray (PAVA) to disperse a crowd during the protest.
He told The Standard: “A member of the central protests was arrested, I don’t know what for, and the police ran and grabbed this guy.
“At that point, all the other guys moved towards police — aggravated by the arrest taking place —and there was lots of shoving back and forth.”
Mr Hadfield described how tensions escalated quickly, prompting one officer to use the Pava spray.
“About a minute later one of the officers got out the Pava and sprayed it into the crowd in front of him.
“I got only a tiny bit of it because I wasn’t that close and I was wearing glasses, but a few drops got into my eye and was rather painful.
“It was unexpected and intense.”
According to Mr Hadfield, around 15 people were affected by the Pava spray, including a boy around the age of 11 who looked “very rough”.
“He looked really quite bad”, Mr Hadfield said. “There were a number of people helping him out and trying to get it out of his face.”
The 28-year-old said it was the first protest he had been to where he had seen PAVA used by police.
“The police do seem to be increasing the force with which they are shutting down protests generally,” Mr Hadfield added.
The Met said officers had used Pava spray, a synthetic form of pepper spray, after they had “witnessed an assault by a protester on a member of the public” in the shopping centre.
The force added: “The suspect was immediately arrested by officers who used Pava spray.
“We are aware other protesters and members of the public, including a child, may have been temporarily affected by the use of Pava given the density of the crowds in the area.”
Ongoing demos over the use of hotels are taking place around the country after the Government won a Court of Appeal challenge against an injunction which would have seen asylum seekers moved out of the Bell Hotel, Epping.
Five arrests were made on Saturday after masked men tried to storm the Crowne Plaza in Stockley Road, West Drayton.
The Pink Ladies of Canary Wharf and other local community members have set off marching all the way around the Isle of Dogs, heading towards the Britannia Hotel asylum centre. Patriotic music is blasting over the speakers pic.twitter.com/CutNyFIUHB
— Jack Hadfield 🇬🇧 (@JackHadders) August 31, 2025
The Met added on Sunday: “Protesters, including some masked, moved into the Canary Wharf shopping centre where a small group became aggressive towards police. Further officers deployed to assist.
“Four arrests were made including for common assault by a protester on a member of the public, possession of class A and B drugs, assault on police, public order offences and failure to disperse.
“One of our officers was punched in the face - luckily they have not suffered significant injury.”
The protesters have since dispersed, Scotland Yard added.
Commander Adam Slonecki, in charge of policing London this weekend, said: “This afternoon we have unfortunately seen more disorder, following the five arrests made yesterday in the West Drayton area.
“We had plenty of officers on the ground who moved in swiftly to deal with the criminality that occurred inside and outside the shopping centre. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.
“Today’s protest saw many community members attend, including women and children, and we worked to ensure the safety of those there to peacefully represent their views. Those who arrive at protests masked and intent on causing trouble will continue to be dealt with robustly at future protests.
“We remain in the area to deter any further disorder and provide reassurance to local residents and businesses.”
