Clashes occurred during a protest rally in London as protesters threw bottles at police, The BBC reported.

According to it, despite all the warnings, thousands of demonstrators gathered in downtown London claiming they were protecting statues from anti-racism activists.

Various groups in the country, including some far-right activists, said they had come to London to protect symbols of British history.

Speaking before the clashes, the leader of the far-right group Britain First, Paul Golding - earlier accused of committing a terrorist crime - said they had turned out to "guard our monuments".

The statue of Winston Churchill was boxed up to protect it from potential damage after protesters painted "was a racist" on it last weekend.