Crowds of protesters have gathered in Manchester city centre ahead of the Conservative Party Conference.
Thousands of Tory delegates are set to converge at the Manchester Central convention complex and surrounding venues over the coming days.
The event begins on Sunday and runs through to Wednesday.
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This afternoon, pro-European protesters descended on St Peter's Square - close to where the conference is being held.
Braving the afternoon drizzle, many carried placards criticising the record of Prime Minsiter Boris Johnson and his party.
Others carried European Union flags and chanted anti-Brexit songs, while a number of speakers took to a stage to address the crowd.
It was the first of a number of demonstrations expected to take place throughout the conference’s stay in Manchester.
The People's Assembly is planning four days of protests.
The largest of these events will be a march from Whitworth Park, on Oxford Road, to the convention centre on Sunday afternoon.
The group is calling for a swathe of reforms, including an end to the controversial policing bill, which has been demonstrated against in Manchester already this year .
Other protest events include an ‘in conversation’ session between former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and journalist Gary Younge — on Monday evening.
Safeguarding measures, surveillance and armed officers will be deployed across the four-day conference as part of one of the largest 24-hour security operations in the UK.
Security barriers and cordons have already been installed in and around Manchester Central and the Midland Hotel, where the majority of attendees will be staying, while many surrounding roads will be closed for the duration of the event.
Party conferences have been a key feature in Manchester’s events calendar for more than a decade as members and leaders meet to discuss and share ideas.
It will be Boris Johnson’s second Tory party conference in the city with the prime minister having visited in the months prior to the 2019 general election.
