UK police arrest eight after anti-Islam protest

London: British police said on Friday they had arrested eight people after an anti-Islamic protest outside a mosque in northwest London turned violent.

As supporters of a group calling itself Stop Islamisation of Europe gathered outside Harrow Central Mosque about 1,000 counter demonstrators turned up outside the mosque, some of whom police said belonged to a group called United Against Fascism.

Police made the arrests for possession of offensive weapons and breaching the peace after bricks and bottles were thrown at officers. Items recovered include bottles of bleach, a hammer and a chisel, they said.

Live television pictures showed lines of police separating the two opposing groups who taunted each other.