Canary Wharf protest: Full list of arrests as police officer punched in anti-asylum demo

Outbreaks of violence were reported at an anti-asylum protest in Canary Wharfon Sunday - with the Met Police hauling a number of suspects into custody.

The force said a group of protesters, some of whom donned masks to conceal their identities, later stormed the shopping centre in London's financial districtand behaved in an "aggressive" manner towards police officers and members of the public.

A spokesperson for the force added that one of their officers was punched in the face while carrying out her job, trying to subdue the protesters on the Isle of Dogs. Reports say that a number of young children were present at the time of the alleged assault.

READ MORE: Canary wharf protests: Boy, 11, pepper-sprayed by cops at migrant hotel

READ MORE: Four arrested at asylum hotel protest 'with kids present' as officer punched

The protesters had gathered to condemn recent events at a nearby hotel, which they believe is housing asylum seekers and migrants.

A group of men and women, clad in pink balaclavas, were seen marching down Westferry Road before surrounding a bus and shaking it.

A woman who was on board the bus at the time recalled: "I was on a bus in Bank Street where the demonstrators shook it. Some passengers found it amusing and egged them on. Lots of masked faces. Ugly."

In a statement, the Met confirmed that it had made four arrests throughout the day. They're listed below...

• Common assault. A protester is said to have assaulted a member of the public.
• Possession of Class A & B drugs.
• Assault on a police officer and public order offences.
• Failure to disperse.

In its statement, the force said the police officer struck was not left with any significant injuries.

It added: "We are aware there are young children in the protest area and while we deal with any criminality our officers are ensuring the safety of them is paramount."

To prevent people using masks to conceal their identities, police implemented a Section 60AA for the Isle of Dogs. This meant people wearing a mask within the confines of the area could be arrested for the duration of the order.

The same area was also subject to a dispersal order, which forced protesters to leave or be arrested.

At one point, cops used pepper spray to help detain one offender. Images showed officers wiping their eyes after getting caught in the line of the spray.

This clash comes after five people were arrested by the Met Police yesterday at protests in West London. A crowd gathered outside the Crowne Plaza hotel, near Heathrow, which is thought to be holding asylum seekers.

Police said a group of masked men "attempted to enter the hotel via the rear entrance, damaging the security hoarding". A breakaway protest moved towards a nearby Novotel hotel and then moved to a Holiday Inn.

The Met Police said: "Officers enforced cordons in the area to prevent a breach of the peace and three arrests were made. Two officers suffered minor injuries." A Section 35 dispersal order was put in place to make people leave the area and two more arrests were made at this point.

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."

The Mirror has reached out to the Met for further updates about yesterday's arrests.