Thousands gather for anti far-right march in London

Thousands of protesters have gathered in central London for an anti far-right march organised by Together Alliance.

Crowds took to the capital's streets from 13:00 GMT on Saturday, with placards displaying messages including "fight ignorance not immigrants" and "reject racist lies" visible.

High-profile figures have backed the protest, including Sir Lenny Henry and Paloma Faith, while singer Billy Bragg was expected to attend and Leigh-Anne Pinnock is set to perform at a music event in Trafalgar Square.

The march is due to head towards Whitehall, where a video message from London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan will be played and speeches will be made, including by Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

Several other politicians are also in attendance, including Your Party MP Jeremy Corbyn and Labour's Diane Abbott.

Among those attending is Steve Tribble, who travelled from Stroud with what he described as a "radical left-wing band" of musicians. He said he felt compelled to join the demonstration because of growing concerns about the far-right.

"I understand that populism is spreading all over the world and that people are trying to look for scapegoats, they're angry," he said. "But we're worried, that's why we're here."

Another in attendance was Salvinder Dhillon. He said he believed the number of those in attendance would "more than match" last year's Unite the Kingdom rally but, even if they did not, it would not matter.

He told the BBC: "What we have, they don't have. We have the unity of the people, the fighting spirit of the people, and we're going to win."

A separate march organised by the Palestine Coalition will join the route before both groups converge at Whitehall. Police have imposed conditions preventing the joint demonstration from continuing beyond 17:00 GMT.

The Metropolitan Police said there would be an increased police presence and officers "have been briefed to be alert to any behaviour that crosses the line from protest into criminality".

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jon Savell said: "This will be a busy weekend for our officers but we have detailed plans in place to ensure all groups protesting this weekend can do so lawfully and without causing serious disruption to other Londoners, businesses or visitors."