Cop punched in face as masked hotel protesters go on rampage

AN officer was punched in the face after masked demonstrators became aggressive at an anti-asylum protest, police said.

- By Rosie Shead

Protesters on both sides of the divide over migration policies gathered outside a hotel in Canary Wharf, east London, yesterday.

They included about 20 anti-migration demonstrators, some of whom wore masks and carried Union flags, and several children.

Across the road, around 100 counter-protesters held banners bearing the words “stand up to racism” and “stop the far-Right”.

Later the Metropolitan Police said a group, including some wearing masks, moved into a Canary Wharf shopping centre where “a small number of masked protesters then became aggressive towards members of the public and police”.