Arrest at Britain First march in Wolverhampton amid 'acid attack'

One man was arrested amid reports of a suspected acid attack during a "Day of Action" by Britain First in Wolverhampton on Saturday (12 August). Around 40 members of the far-right group clashed with United Against Fascism protesters outside the Wulfrun Centre in the heart of Wolverhampton's City Centre.

During the melee, Manchester man Anthony Walker, aged 50 from Gerald Road, in Salford, was arrested and later charged with using threatening or abuse words or behaviour with intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence. He has been bailed to appear at Walsall Magistrates Court on Friday, 25 August.

There was an allegation that a corrosive substance was hurled at Britain First demonstrators, but no injuries were reported and, although officers chased the offender, he was able to evade arrest.

Britain First member Paul Golding said his group had a corrosive substance thrown at them by a "UAF (Unite Against Facism)-type".

Public Order notices were served on both sets of protesters instructing them where to protest in order to keep the groups separate and the groups moved on around 2pm leaving the city centre to return to normal, although retail outlets reported that business had been severely affected throughout the demonstration.

Chief Superintendent Dave Sturman, from the Force Operations Department, said: "The right to demonstrate is a fundamental human right and we have a duty to facilitate peaceful protests, however we had not been given prior notice of today's event leaving little time to prepare. However our policing response was swift and robust ensuring that confrontation was kept to a minimum and the city of Wolverhampton returned to normality as soon as possible."