Six individuals were arrested on Saturday (March 21) following a “Walk with Jesus” protest orchestrated by the far-right political party, UKIP. The march was set to commence from outside the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, after UKIP had urged its supporters to “Stand for Christ in Liverpool during Lent”, by participating in a ‘procession’ through the city centre.

Prior to the march, the leader of Liverpool Council, Cllr Liam Robinson, denounced the planned event and expressed regret that the authority couldn’t halt it. Senior church leaders in the city also voiced their opposition to the march. They stated the march had been “organised independently of the recognised Christian community in Merseyside and resist any suggestion that it speaks on our behalf.”

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A post shared on UKIP’s social media pages on February 23, indicated the meeting point would be on the steps of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral at 12pm, with the march departing at 1pm.

By 10am this morning, a counter-protest organised by Merseyside Stand Up To Racism was already in progress, with hundreds of people occupying space outside the cathedral and in front of its steps, reports the Liverpool Echo.

A police helicopter had been dispatched, which could be seen hovering over the meeting spot, where a significant police presence was noticeable in front of the steps leading up to the cathedral, and standing about the crossing between Mount Pleasant and Hope Street.

UKIP leader, Nick Tenconi, arrived around 12:45pm, a quarter of an hour before the planned procession. By 1pm, there seemed to be roughly 50 UKIP supporters present, all encircled by hundreds of counter-protesters.

Those assembled for the march commenced their walk at the designated 1pm start time, but were halted within seconds by counter-protesters who blocked the road leading down Mount Pleasant. The UKIP supporters then retreated to their starting point.

For the following hour, Nick Tenconi and his followers remained at the meeting point, where they stayed until just past 2pm. They then proceeded down the pavement of Mount Pleasant, heading towards Clarence Street.

Police kept a separation between the UKIP supporters and the counter-demonstrators, who could be seen clapping and cheering. Many were heard chanting: “0-1-5-1, UKIP Do One”.

This march led to several scuffles, until police re-established a divide. Counter-demonstrators were asked to stand at Great Orford Street on one side and Pomona Street on the other. In the middle, police formed a perimeter around the UKIP supporters, who stood in front of the former Irish Centre building.

This standoff lasted for about 45 minutes before the UKIP supporters made their way to Liverpool Lime Street Station.

Merseyside Police have now confirmed six individuals were arrested following the ‘planned procession’ by UKIP, and a counter-demonstration in Liverpool city centre today (March 21).

At 8am this morning, police said it imposed a Section 60 Order, which runs until 9pm, and grants officers additional powers to search individuals suspected of involvement in criminality and disorder. It also includes a Section 60AA authorisation, meaning failure to remove a face covering when requested by an officer could result in arrest.

Of the six individuals arrested, police said three were taken into custody including:

Chief Superintendent Zoe Thornton said: “There was a large policing presence in Liverpool city centre today to ensure the safety of all those taking part as well as the wider public.

“We will never tolerate acts of criminality or anti-social behaviour and whilst the vast majority of people who attended did so lawfully and peacefully, six people were arrested with three people being taken into custody.

“A decision was made to introduce a Section 60 order and apply conditions, and conditions were also put on under the Public Order Act 1986 . These decisions were not taken lightly, the purpose to reduce the potential risk of violence, and to prevent the intimidation of others.

“As a police force, we must uphold everyone’s rights to protest peacefully, whilst 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.”