-Thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square for a Palestine Action protest, with demonstrators sitting silently holding placards saying: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

-Police warned before the event that it was likely to involve criminal offences rather than lawful protest.

-Officers were seen carrying protesters away from the square, with crowds chanting “shame on you” during arrests.

-Some protesters made peace signs or continued shouting support for Palestine Action as they were removed.

-Former Met Police chief superintendent Dal Babu said the “optics” of arresting hundreds of people would be “very challenging” for the force.

-More than 2,700 people have reportedly been arrested since Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation last year.

-Yael Kahn, who said members of her family were killed in the Holocaust, attended the protest and said she wished there had been similar demonstrations when her family was exterminated by Nazi Germany.