Nine pictures of huge police presence in Leeds today as protests pass 'without serious incidents'

Hundreds of police officers took to the streets of Leeds City Centre this afternoon during a series of planned protests.

West Yorkshire Police undertook a large scale policing operation to manage three demonstrations, organised by UKIP and the Yorkshire Patriots, Stand Up To Racism and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Additional police powers were put in place during static protests in City Square and Victoria Gardens and marches around the city centre.

West Yorkshire Police confirmed this afternoon that six arrests have been made and said the protests have “concluded without any serious incident”.

There were no reports of any injuries or any incidents of disorder.

Assistant Chief Constable Damien Miller, who led the operation, said: “Our main priority today was to keep people safe and balance the rights of those who wished to protest with the rights of those visiting, working or living in the city centre.

“That aim was successfully achieved through careful planning and preparation, alongside our partner agencies, and the strategic deployment of officers on the ground to manage the impact of these events throughout the day.

“Although there were a small number of arrests, this was completely in line with what we would expect for an event of this nature, and we hope the people of Leeds can be suitably reassured of our ability to deal effectively with events such as this, ensuring public safety and keeping disruption to a minimum.”