155 arrested at London anti-lockdown demo as protesters clash with police despite being urged to stay home

MORE than 150 anti-lockdown protesters have been arrested in London as demonstrators clashed with police.

Demonstrators hit the streets of the capital on Saturday - many not wearing masks - to protest the tough government measures to slow the spread of coronavirus.

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It comes as England has less than one week left of the second lockdown.

Hundreds of protesters marched through the city near Oxford street chanting "freedom" while carrying signs that read "no more lockdowns".

Piers Corbyn, brother of the former Labour Party leader Jeremy, was seen facing off with police at Marble Arch.

Meanwhile Gym owner Andreas Michli - who faces a £67,000 fine for refusing to close his gym - was arrested at the protests.

Mr Michli, 34, continued to allow customers to workout at his gym in North London despite the national lockdown.

The Metropolitan Police said there were 155 arrests for suspected offences including breaching coronavirus regulations.

Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell said: “This was a challenging day for Met, City of London and British Transport Police officers and I would like to thank them for the professionalism they have shown throughout the day.

“On Friday, we made it very clear how we would police this event, warning those looking to attend that they risked facing enforcement action if they attended a gathering in London.

"Today’s enforcement action is a direct result of those individuals deliberately breaking the law and at times, targeting our officers with aggression and causing disruption to the road network.

“Our policing plan will continue well into the evening and I would urge anyone who hasn’t already dispersed to go home.

"By doing so, you can avoid ending up facing enforcement action and help protect yourself and others during this health crisis.”

Protesting is not a permitted exemption to the prohibition of gatherings under current Covid-19 regulations in England.

Police were seen at King's Cross in central London arresting protesters.

One man was arrested and put into a van at the ‘Our Movement’ demonstration where they were protesting against the lockdown, the Covid vaccine and wearing masks.

A man dressed as Santa was also seen getting carried away by police in handcuffs.

Dozens of demonstrators turned out near Hyde Park carrying signs that said "All we want for Christmas is our freedom back".

The number of coronavirus cases have dropped by 20 per cent in a week as 15,871 new infections were recorded in the past 24 hours.

The increase in infections brings the total to 1,605,172 as deaths rose by 479.

Saturday’s daily case load is smaller than last week’s figure of 19,875 in a sign that lockdown measures are finally slowing the spread.

And it is down by 41 per cent on the 23,860 infections reported a fortnight ago. 

Yesterday's rise in deaths brings the total to 58,030.

Separate figures showed 370 further deaths registered across UK hospitals.