More than 100 arrested in London’s Kill the Bill protests

“However, as the afternoon wore on it became clear that a small number of people were intent on remaining to cause disruption to law-abiding Londoners,” he said.

“Despite repeated instructions from officers to leave, they did not and, amid increasing levels of disorder, arrests were made.

“We should not allow the behaviour of a few individuals who attend these events with the purpose of committing criminal acts to taint the good behaviour of the majority who attended yesterday.”

The protests were prompted by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which proposes to give police in England and Wales more power to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those which are deemed too noisy or a nuisance.

Ministers and police have defended the proposals, saying they were needed to tackle demonstrations such the ones by Extinction Rebellion in 2019, where mass occupations of roads and bridges in London and elsewhere stretched police resources to the limit.