Estimated 500,000 rally at anti-cuts march
Estimated 500,000 march in London against public sector cuts
Police say protest was overwhelmingly peaceful but over 150 arrests have been made
Hardliners attack Topshop and occupy Fortnum & Mason
Read our latest summary
Read our latest news story on the march
9.31pm: As the TUC anti-cuts protest begins to calm down, here is a short summary of the day's events.
500,000 demonstrators turned out in what is believed to be the largest demonstration since those against the Iraq war
Police said the protest had been "peaceful and well-stewarded", but latest figures suggest there were 157 arrests and 35 injuries
More than a dozen shops on Oxford Street were occupied by Ukuncut. The group also occupied the upscale department store Fortnum & Mason
Violence broke out on Oxford Street as Santander's windows were smashed and Lloyds TSB was attacked. The Porsche store's windows were smashed and a fire was started in Jermyn Street
Labour leader Ed Miliband condemned the violence, but defended the vast majority of demonstrators who he said represented the views of mainstream Britain
The last contingent of around 2,000 protesters are now gathered around fires in Trafalgar Square with a few setting up tents for the night
9.08pm: PA has some updated information on arrests and injuries from the Met:
125 people were arrested for a variety of offences, including public order offences, criminal damage, aggravated trespass and violent disorder. There were 35 reported injuries over the course of the day, including five police officers. Sixteen were taken to hospital, including one officer.
9.07pm: Shiv Malik says that some 2,000 people are now in Trafalgar Square with a c! ouple of tents being set up at the base of Nelson's column as protesters attempt to turn it into Tahrir Square.
9.04pm: Protesters make a bonfire in Piccadilly Circus as the mood calms.
9.01pm: Matthew Taylor says that the protests in central London are starting to calm down.
In Piccadilly Circus it's now difficult to tell who is a protester and who is a Saturday night tourist. Demonstrators were playing a game of football by the Eros statue, a sign of the mood lightening.
The UKuncut lot seem to be being released from their containment by Fortnum and Mason.
In Trafalgar Square between 500 and 1,000 protesters are gathering around fires and dancing and listening to music. The traffic is moving freely and the police seem happy with the situation.
There is still a large police presence but there is much less tension.
8.44pm: Violence kicks off in central Oxford Street, scenes from this afternoon.
8.38pm: Photos of the Porsche store windows being smashed this afternoon, as described at 3:48 by student demonstrator Emily Finch.
8.34pm: Collection of photographs from Oxford Circus taken by freelance photographer and demonstrator Jonangelo Molinari earlier this afternoon.
8.23pm: Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for Southwark council who was at the protest with a 100 strong Southwark Labour contingent, said their experience of the protest was peaceful and meaningful.
I've not seen any violence, just a few vandalised buildings and a bit of graffiti. It's been a remarkably peaceful and friendly march; good natured and well mannered. Only a small minority of people have been violent. The vast majority of us witnessed nothing of that at all. Everybody I saw simply wanted to send a message to the government about! their f rustration with the huge scale of public sector cuts.
I was marching with the Southwark Labour party because of the catastrophic scale of the cuts in our local area we are subjected to a 34m cut in funding from central government in a single year. It's unfair that an area as deprived as Southwark is facing the biggest cuts of any borough in London. Deprived areas across the country are suffering disproportionately.
There was an extremely diverse bunch of people out today. I saw Gurkhas, people who work for the police, trade unions, students, Labour party members, green party activists... it was very broad based I thought. Many people were there who had never been on a march before but were just upset about what happened to their own local community.
7.56pm: Matt Taylor has said the post at 7.01 saying there is a fire at Lilly Whites should be corrected. The smoke that can be seen in the picture is from the fire on Jermyn Street Paul Lewis reported at 6:59 which was put out by fire fighters shortly afterwards.
7.52pm: Journalist Shiv Malik has sent this report of a police officer who has been seriously injured at Piccadilly.
A police officer has been injured outside of Waterstones in Piccadilly. He is currently being attended to by an ambulance and health staff said his situation is stable. I saw him inside the ambulance with a neck brace and ice packs on his legs. It looks pretty serious.
7.49pm: Riot police stand in front of a burning barricade in Jermyn Street.
7.45pm: Matt Taylor and Paul Lewis have just sent this update via email. They say that the pockets of violence will not overshadow the anti-cuts message of the protesters.
Night has fallen, ! Hyde Par k is clearing out, and we're starting to see more of the ugly clashes that have come to typify big public order demonstrations in London.
If the story today was very much a huge turnout of people opposed to government cuts, what we have seen so far tonight should not overshadow that.
Earlier nurses, teachers, students, doctors and pensioners all felt that they had been involved in something significant: a moment when their opposition to the government's spending cuts was given a powerful voice. Most would have remained oblivious to the fact that a dozen shop windows in the West End (randomly chosen, it seems, but there was a preference for banks and multinationals) were smashed and covered in paint.
Television pictures from tonight will change that. There appear to be thousands stuck in the West End, either unable to exit kettles or determined to confront police. It is hard for us to give a comprehensive picture, as police appear to have contained protesters in several "mini kettles" around the West End, but there are repeated ongoing confrontations. Bottles, bricks, sticks and fencing are being thrown. Police are striking back, and repeatedly surging at the demonstrators.
On Jermyn Street, repeated clashes ended in protesters turning fences, planks of wood and upturned bins into burning barricades, causing a serious fire that fire-fighters were called to extinguish. There are around 1,000 protesters in Trafalgar Square. It seems more peaceful here, with one woman trying to teach an Arabic chant to the crowd in the ongoing (and largely unsuccessful) attempt to "turn Trafalgar into Tahrir". This will probably continue, in a downward spiral, for a few more hours.
7.40pm: Police now say 75 arrests have been made in London today.
7.27pm: A Scotland Yard spokesman said five officers were injured during the protests.
Four were treated for minor injuries and one was taken to hospital with a groin injury, according to PA.
7.2! 3pm: Lab our leader Ed Miliband tonight condemned the violence which erupted away from the march, according to PA.
Hundreds of thousands of people peacefully protested today. They are the true voice of today's march. I unequivocally condemn those who have committed acts of violence. There is no excuse for it. It is unlawful and wrong.
Earlier the Labour leader addressed the rally saying that the marchers represented the opinion of the mainstream majority across the UK.
Our struggle is to fight to preserve, protect and defend the best of the services we cherish because they represent the best of the country we love.
We know what the Government will say: that this is a march of the minority. They are so wrong. David Cameron: you wanted to create the big society - this is the big society.
The big society united against what your Government is doing to our country. We stand today not as the minority, but as the voice of the mainstream majority in this country.
7.01pm: There are reports on Twitter that Lilly Whites is now on fire.
6.59pm: Paul Lewis has called in with a report of a fire in Piccadilly that appears to be getting out of control.
The fire is on Jermyn Street next to Piccadilly. It began about 15mins ago when clashes broke out between the police cordon and protesters. The protesters ripped up scaffolding and planks of wood, filled a waste bin and set it alight. That fire has now spread with flames reaching 11ft high, and from where I'm standing it looks like it is getting out of control. There's a thick plume of black smoke rising into the sky. I'm about 30ft away and can feel the heat from where I'm standing. Riot police have cleared the immediate vicinity but the whole area around Piccadilly is becoming something of a magnet for people looking to cause disruption. The situation is now getting dangerous.
You can see a photo of the fire here.
6.46pm: Met police saying that Fortnum and Mason is now being treated as a crime scene and threatening UKuncut with arrest.
6.40pm: My colleague Matthew Taylor has said that UKuncut have ended their occupation at Fortnum and Mason and are now being detained by police.
6.10pm: The Metropolitan police press office has said that today's march has been largely peaceful and well ordered, with a small number of violent disruptions and just nine arrests. This is the police statement:
Today's TUC March for the Alternative has been peaceful and well-stewarded. However, there have been a number of separate incidents including the throwing of missiles in the Oxford Street area and criminal damage in Shaftesbury Avenue. Police are on the scene and dealing with this.
There have been a small number of arrests made for various public order offences, criminal damage and violent disorder. We can confirm police have not advised businesses in central London to close.
6.00pm: Good evening and welcome to our continuing coverage of the March for the Alternative in London, and the aftermath. You can read our earlier live blog here.
Around 500,000 people have joined the anti-cuts march through central London. The figure was higher than originally hoped for by the organisers.
Police said the protest had been "peaceful and well-stewarded". But there have been a few clashes between police and activists not associated with the main march, and nine arrests have been made.
More than a dozen stores on Oxford Street were occupied by Ukuncut. The group has also occuplied the upscale department store Fortnum &
Mason. Riot police have set up a kettle around the area.
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