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.

Organisers of Saturday's march claimed as many as 500,000 people had attended, although the Metropolitan Police estimated the figure to be closer to 50,000, adding precise figures were hard to determine due to the spread of the crowds.

The Met had earlier promised an increased police presence in response to the protest, adding officers would be "alert to any behaviour that crosses the line from protest into criminality".

In an update on Saturday afternoon, the force said two protesters had been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and causing a public nuisance after allegedly attempting to climb pillars near Trafalgar Square.

Police also said officers had intervened to prevent a breach of the peace after a group of counter-protesters appeared on Pall Mall on the route of the main march. Conditions were imposed "requiring them to remain in a specific location, to prevent serious disorder", the force said.

A separate march organised by the Palestine Coalition was due to join the route before both groups converged at Whitehall, where a video message from London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan and speeches, including by Green Party leader Zack Polanski, were expected to be heard.

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

Police imposed conditions preventing the joint demonstration continuing beyond 17:00 GMT.

Among those attending was 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."

According to its website, Together Alliance is a group of civil society organisations including trade unionists, faith groups, and environmentalists that represent more than seven million people.