London migrant protests LIVE: Police intervene as masked men clash with rivals outside Islington asylum hotel

Claire Ogley was one of the many Islington residents who joined the Stand Up to Racism protest outside the Thistle City Barbican hotel.

The 31-year-old told the Standard earlier: “I live in Islington. I wanted to show support as a local resident.

“It’s really important to stand up to the far right when they come out. We have a message that migrants are not a problem, they are not a threat to us.

“They are welcome. It’s not an issue to have migration. I wanted to stand up for that locally.”

The protester added: “We saw the riots on the street a year ago. It is really frightening to see.

“There is a really worrying trend of increasing populism, trying to divide people and stoke up hatred.”

Stand Up to Racism protesters have made a stand outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in north London.

Earlier, one of the protesters, 77-year-old Joel, told the Standard: “Islington is a multicultural area of London. The fascists want to intimidate people and they want to come down and say asylum seekers are the root cause of all the problems of the world, but it’s not the case.

“We want to show that the racists [and] the fascists are out there to intimidate people. We have to stand together.

“We always need more people [to protest], we have to give confidence to people that we are a multicultural city.

“Without the input of people from all over the world, the fashion industry, the food – all the elements of London would be nothing without people from all parts of the world.”

He added: “I’m proud to live in London, we want to see more people [who] will be welcome. It’s not about attacking the fascists, it’s about standing together.”

The Met Police has said that Lever Road, where counter protesters were positioned, is now clear and traffic is moving freely.

King Square, which was where protesters who opposed asylum seekers being placed in the Islington hotel, is also returning to normal.

The Met said officers will remain in the area to deal with any incidents.

Protests and counter protests have taken place outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel, with the mood becoming tense at times.

Police were forced to park vans between the two sets of protesters and at one stage dozens of officers had to move aside a large group of counter protesters who had linked arms and blocked the centre of Lever Road.

Here are some of the latest pictures from the scene.

Protesters against asylum seekers being placed in the Thistle City Barbican hotel have been waving St George’s flag and chanting across the street from the building.

Susie Luke, who has lived in the Clerkenwell area her whole life, told the Standard: “Our communities are struggling.

“People are living in the block of flats opposite on food stamps, watching people live over there for free.”

Ms Luke also raised concerns about crime in the area increasing, claiming that her friend was followed home and a young man had a chain ripped from around his neck outside the hotel.

The Islington resident, whose family moved to London from Ireland, added: “They aren’t going to make a community.”

Another protester Chris, from Romford, said he had travelled to Islington “for his children and grandchildren”.

He said he believed some people seeking asylum in the UK had been brought up with different values and don’t respect women and children.

“They have a totally different set of values,” he said. “It’s not the way I’ve been brought up.”

Another counter protester, Sheila, who only gave her first name, said government policy meant that people had been “rounded people up as targets to fascists”.

She added that asylum seekers had been left as “sitting ducks” for protesters.

She said: “The government has put refugees in hotels as they can’t process asylum claims quick enough.”

The counter protester added that everyone should have the right to work.

Counter protesters waved to several people in the Thistle City Barbican hotel before the Met Police began to move a group back towards a dedicated zone.

A huddle of around 50 counter protesters, many wearing face masks and with their arms linked, were moved by officers back to one side of the hotel.

Meanwhile, other counter protesters standing next to a Stand Up To Racism banner have chanted “show me what community looks like” and “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here.”

Joel, a counter protester outside the hotel in Clerkenwell, said: “Islington is a multicultural area of London. The fascists want to intimidate people and they want to come down and say asylum seekers are the root cause of all the problems of the world, but it’s not the case.

“We want to show that the racists [and] the fascists are out there to intimidate people. We have to stand together.

“We always need more people [to protest], we have to give confidence to people that we are a multicultural city. Without the input of people from all over the world, the fashion industry, the food – all the elements of London would be nothing without people from all parts of the world.”

Asked what he thought about the anti-migrants protest, Joel added: “It’s all enabled by Nigel Farage. He’s a fascist enabler, he enables fascist ideas to come to the fore, and he is now supporting people who want to demonstrate outside asylum hotels.

“And Starmer himself and the Labour Party going on about deportations and small boats. The small boats are only ten per cent of all migration to Britain.

“I’m proud to Live in London, we want to see more people [who] will be welcome. It’s not about attacking the fascists, it’s about standing together.”

A group of anti-fascist protesters is blocking a junction outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London.

Officers have pushed into the crowd to detain several demonstrators, dragging them out by their arms and legs.