British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned "racist thuggery" after far-right protesters clashed in London with anti-racist demonstrators and police trying to keep the two sides apart.
"Racist thuggery has no place on our streets. Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of the law," Mr Johnson tweeted after a day of clashes in London.
In Trafalgar Square and surrounding avenues, small bands of far-right protesters jostled, tossed bottles and cans and set off fireworks as riot police with dogs and horses lined up.
Groups shouted racial slurs at the anti-racism protesters, and some tried to use metal crash barriers to break through police lines.
The numbers of demonstrators in London was smaller today than in recent days, after announcements by far-right groups that they would converge on the city centre prompted anti-racism activists to cancel a planned march and instead call for scattered protests.
Hundreds attended rallies in other British cities, many donning masks due to the coronavirus outbreak and carrying placards with slogans such as "To Be Black Is Not A Crime".
"It is clear that far-right groups are causing violence and disorder in central London, I urge people to stay away," London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Twitter.
Home Secretary Priti Patel denounced "thoroughly unacceptable thuggery" and said any perpetrators of violence or vandalism would face the full force of the law.
"Any perpetrators of violence or vandalism should expect to face the full force of the law. Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated."
Throughly unacceptable thuggery.
— Priti Patel (@pritipatel) June 13, 2020
Any perpetrators of violence or vandalism should expect to face the full force of the law. Violence towards our police officers will not be tolerated.
Coronavirus remains a threat to us all. Go home to stop the spread of this virus & save lives. https://t.co/HsOx9cgrqD
The Metropolitan Police Federation has said a man who urinated next to a memorial dedicated to a police officer who died during a terrorist attack in 2017 should be sent to prison.
A picture circulating online shows a man, who was part of the protest, urinating next to the memorial of Pc Keith Palmer, the police officer who was stabbed to death in the 2017 terror attack in Westminster.
Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: "It's horrendous. The man urinating next to Keith Palmer's memorial is disgusting.
"How can a human being behave like that? I don't get it, it's beyond belief.
"A faction of people today [Saturday] only had one intention - to be violent and unlawful, they didn't come here to protect the statues, it's just disorder and unruliness.
"I suggest serious custodial sentences in relation to assaults on police and others, criminal damage and urinating next to the memorial of heroes."
His views were echoed by Senior Tory MP Rob Halfon, who described the protester's behaviour as "horrific".
Mr Halfon, the chair of the Commons Education Committee, said he hoped the perpetrator was tracked down and jailed.
Yesterday statues in London's Parliament Square, including of Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, were boarded up to prevent them being targeted by protesters both from the Black Lives Matter movement and far-right groups.
Police on horseback pushed back demonstrators near the statues of Mandela and Gandhi today as protesters continued to throw objects towards them, including at least one smoke bomb.
Speaking before the clashes, Paul Golding, leader of Britain First, said the crowds had turned out to "guard our monuments", telling the PA news agency: "I am extremely fed up with the way that the authorities have allowed two consecutive weekends of vandalism against our national monuments.
"Anyone who comes along today to try and vandalise them will probably be dealt with by all of these Englishmen that turned up, and they're fed up as well."
But when asked about the Nelson Mandela statue, Mr Golding said: "Why should we have a communist terrorist mass murderer in the capital city of England? It doesn't make any sense.
"We would like to see that one go, on good grounds, but the rest of them are our historical heritage."
A demonstrator from south London, who gave her name as Victoria, was in the square with a banner reading "All lives matter".
Discussing controversial statues, she told PA: "It's the past. You've just gotta learn to live with it, they've done what they've done but it's still in the records they did good things.
"I've got things I don't want to remember, but I wouldn't go smashing things up because of it."
In an attempt to avoid a repeat of last week's sporadic clashes with officers during BLM protests, the Metropolitan Police warned people joining demonstrations on Saturday that they must be off the streets by 5pm or risk being arrested.
In response to the statements by far right groups, BLM organisers urged supporters to stay away from central London.
There were similar gatherings in Belfast, Glasgow and Bristol with crowds massing around monuments.
The Northern Ireland Cenotaph Protection Group issued a statement saying its aim is to protect war memorials amid attacks on statues of historical figures across the UK in recent days.
The NICPG said: "We are not a counter protest, we do not have a political message. For those of us who served we served beside men and women of all cultural backgrounds, and those veterans that have been in combat know, above all else, regardless of what colour you are, we all bleed red."
It insisted the gathering "is not a protest or political movement", adding: "We are there to protect and defend only, not to inflame the situation."
Several of those taking part wore British military uniforms, while Union Jack and Ulster flags were draped over the railings of City Hall.
In Brighton, more than 1,000 protesters formed a line along the seafront in a Black Lives Matter demonstration.
Protests against police brutality and racism have erupted all over the UK and across the globe following the death of African-American George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police nearly three weeks ago.
Last week, the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down and dumped into Bristol harbour by Black Lives Matter protesters, while the UK's war-time Prime Minister memorial in London was defaced with the words "was a racist".
Reporting: Press Association/Reuters
