Oxford Street: Nine arrested after Met dispersal orders

Central London's shopping heartland has been hit with youth disorder following online rumours.

Nine people were arrested after police issued 34 people with dispersal orders, which gives officers powers to exclude people from around Oxford Street.

As of 19:00 BST, several hundred youths were seen making their way through Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End.

The dispersal order, covering a large area of the West End, is in effect until 07:00 BST on Friday.

One person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, one for a public offence, four others on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order.

Two others were arrested in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery following social media posts, the Met Police said.

The owner of a convenience store in Soho fought off about 12 people who had allegedly stormed his shop trying to steal.

A McDonald's restaurant and a gift shop were briefly attacked as several fights broke out among the crowd.

Some shops in Oxford Street and Regent Street closed their barriers as attempts were made to get inside.

It comes after online videos urged crowds to turn up and cause disruption.

Earlier on Wednesday, there was a large police presence in Oxford Street with mounted officers and police vans on the road and side streets. Security guards stood at the entrances of the main stores deciding who could go in and browse.

Young people gathered in groups, mixing in with everyday shoppers, with some filming or looking on bemused.

Inside Oxford Circus Tube station, officers were stopping young men at the ticket barriers to speak with them

The Met Police has said there would be a "heightened" police presence in the area, adding "criminal behaviour" would be "dealt with quickly".

Elsewhere, two young men - one wearing a green hoodie, and the other a grey tracksuit - were handcuffed near a fast food restaurant and led away by police while crowds of people watched.

Earlier, traffic was temporarily brought to a halt before officers and West End security personnel tried to disperse members of the public.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had urged people who had seen the videos on social media "not to go to Oxford Street".

"The police understand why some people may be tempted to go to that part of London," he said.

"Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be a high crime area."

However, he then added it would not be a high crime area "because the police work incredibly hard with the local community, with the retailers in that part of London, and with those citizens who want to have a good day out on Oxford Street, rather than being worried about that sort of nonsense."

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