Nine arrested after masked mob's march against Muslim extremists turns violent
By Claire Ellicott
Last updated at 4:29 PM on 25th May 2009
Nine people have been arrested after hundreds of anti-Islamist protesters clashed with police yesterday.
The streets of Luton descended into violence after demonstrators, many hiding their faces behind balaclavas, brandished England flags and chanted at officers.
A group called March for England was said to have organised the rally as a peaceful protest against Muslim extremists. They were joined by a local group United People of Luton.
Two of those arrested have been charged: one man for possessing an offensive weapon after stones were found in his pockets, and a woman was charged with breaching an anti-social behaviour order.
Another man was fined £80 for a public order offence.
The other six people, all men, have been bailed without charge pending further inquiries.
During the protest, the mob, which included teenagers and women, held banners with slogans such as 'No Sharia Law in the UK' and 'Respect our Troops'.
Some protesters wore masks with the horned face of Sayful Islam, a local hardline political agitator who led Muslim demonstrators in an anti-war protest during the Royal Anglian Regiment's homecoming parade in Luton in March.
But chaos broke out when a crowd of around 500 ran away from police who had been escorting the protest along its route, and ran down side streets towards the town centre.
Officers on horseback and police dogs were deployed, and policemen drew batons to defend themselves.
Groups of young men in balaclavas and England shirts chanted outside the city centre and one balacava-clad protester held a Rottweiler on a chain, while others clashed with police in riot gear.
One Asian man was hit across the face with a banner and left with a bloody nose.
Focus of hate: Sayful Islam used to be a moderate Muslim from Luton
Police said during the disturbance three car windscreens were smashed and a window at a take away restaurant in Chapel Street had been broken.
Last night Luton town centre was calm as police maintained a presence on the streets.
A spokesman for United People of Luton, Wayne King, said many people in Luton were concerned and annoyed that the Muslim community in the town had not taken steps to deal with Sayful Islam's 'hate-filled preachings'.
The 24-year-old, who wore a T-shirt with the words 'No surrender to Al-Qaeda' on it, said: 'We decided enough was enough after the soldiers got heckled as they marched through the town centre by the Muslim extremists.
'Our community has been racially attacked for the last 10 years.
'A mosque in the town got set on fire a few weeks ago and it made national news but churches in Luton are regularly being set fire to.
'We want laws brought in to stop preachers of hate operating here.'
Luton town centre was busy at the time of the riot with shoppers enjoying the sunshine.
Many of those who joined in the march had been drinking in town centre pubs.
Later on, overhead, a police helicopter monitored the movement of the mob which at one point appeared to be making in the direction of Bury Park, an area of Luton where many of the town's Asian population live.
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