UK protests: Suspected far-right protester rescued during skirmishes in London

A man identified by the crowd as a far-right protester was carried to safety by a Black Lives Matter protester on Saturday as animosity was briefly set aside on a day of clashes in London between police and rival groups.

Pictures showed a white man clutching his head as a black man carried him over his shoulders, flanked by police in riot gear.

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The man had been set upon on the steps leading to the Royal Festival Hall in central London and badly beaten, before other protesters stepped in to protect him, Reuters journalists at the scene said.

Earlier in the day there were skirmishes between anti-racism groups and far-right activists.

Anti-racist protesters have rallied for days against racism and police abuses since the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

In a related development, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that protests and marches against racism had been subverted by violence.

"Racist thuggery has no place on our streets. Anyone attacking the police will be met with full force of the law," he tweeted, following the outbreak of violence during protests in the United Kingdom.

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