Three arrested after hundreds gather for Batley protest

One of the arrests was of a man on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon. The other two were were for suspected public order offences.

Police said around 400 people took part in the planned demonstrations and speeches from around noon and that it passed off "largely without incident" shortly after 2pm.

Officers also helped two people believed to have suffered what they described as "medical episodes".

Police said they were in Batley as campaigning took place for the forthcoming by-election.

Assistant Chief Constable Scott Bisset, who led the policing operation, said: “I would like to pass on my gratitude to the local residents and visitors of Batley, partner agencies as well as all officers and staff, for their conduct and co-operation during the demonstration this afternoon, which only caused minor disruption for a short time in the town centre.

“We ensured we had appropriate resources including assistance from additional high visibility police officers, to minimise the disruption caused as much as possible.”

“Our overall aim was to ensure that the demonstrations remained peaceful and was effectively managed, so that the wider public were able to go about their business unaffected.”

Kirklees Council had shut several roads ahead of the protest. Those routes are now open again.