Thousands of left-wing protesters carrying hate-filled banners branding the Tories ‘scum’ have besieged the Conservative Party conference today.
Demonstrators carried a menacing banner showing leading Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg with an arrow shot through his head.
Firebrand union boss Mark Serwotka, the chief of the Public and Commercial Services Union, called for a general strike to bring down the government.
Masked anarchists shouted and while Communists swarmed into the city centre proudly carrying the hammer and sickle flag joined the angry throng.
A menacing banner showing Tory MP Jacob-Rees-Mogg with an arrow through his head and branding the Tories ‘scum’ was proudly hung at the anti-Tory demonstration
Armed police have formed a ring of steel around the conference centre amid fears the protest will spill over into violence, while snipers are perched on rooftops nearby.
Armed police have formed a ring of steel around the Manchester conference centre amid fears it could be it by violence
Masked protesters took to the streets clad in black as they shouted and carried a banner branding the Tories ‘clowns’ were among the thousands who took to the streets for the march
Communists were among the many left-wing protesters who were demanding the government is toppled
Leading Labour MPs have urged protesters not to turn to violence while Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said demonstrators must remain ‘respectful’.
It comes after protesters were condemned for stringing up effigies of Tories along with a banner emblazoned with the words ‘Hang the Tories’ on a bridge outside the city.
The last time the Tory Party held their conference in Manchester two years ago protesters turned violent in nasty scenes outsde the conference.
Anti-nuclear protesters were also out in force for the anti-austerity demonstration
One protester dressed up as spiderman to hammer home his opposition to the Government’s spending plans
A protester carried a placard branding Prime Minister Theresa May a liar was among the thousands marching through the Manchester
Union chiefs called for a general strike to topple the Tory government as they delivered firebrand speeches to the crowd
They hurled abuse, eggs and balls and spat at delegates who ran the gauntlet of the protest to get into the conference centre.
Thousands of anti-austerity protesters demanded the Tories are kicked out of government in today’s march.
They waved placards and chanted ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’ as the the People’s Assembly took to the streets in protest at austerity.
Mr Serwotka called for a general strike on public sector pay to ‘bring the Tories down’, saying Tory policies were ‘literally killing people’.
Conservative cuts to health and safety regulations preceded the Grenfell Tower fire disaster, he told the crowd.
He said: ‘David Cameron told us he has slayed the health and safety monster, but we now know they slayed men and women and children as they slept in their houses.’
Smoke bombs were thrown at an anti-Tory demonstration near the Conservative conference as the protest threatened to turn violent.
Demonstrators, some wearing masks to hide their identity, chanted ‘Let us out!’ after police refused to let a van join the march route because it did not have security clearance.
About 25 police officers lined up to block the road and stood silently as the chants continued.
The stand off came as People’s Assembly march made its way through the centre of Manchester.
The authorities have mounted a £2million security effort involving armed police to help avoid repeats of the violent scenes two years ago.
A banner which read ‘HANG THE TORIES’ which two effigies wearing suits has been dangled on a bridge in Manchester ahead of the Conservative Party conference
A £2million security operation has been put in place in a bid to help avoid a repeat of the last Tory visit to Manchester which was marred by scenes of angry protests
Speaking at a fringe event at the Tory party conference, TUC chief Ms O’Grady was challenged over whether the unions should do ore to distance themselves from the violent banners on the march outside.
She said: ‘We have to have a grown up conversation.
‘It’s important there isn’t bullying or intimidation.
‘I think we also have to rcognise that people do feel angry, and that anger is being expressed.
‘I think for a TUC perspective, it is always important that a protest is made peacefully.’
Labour MP for Ilford Wes Streeting said on Twitter: ‘There really is no justification for throwing objects at people attending Conservative Party conference. None whatsoever.’
Conservative MP Michael Fabricant tweeted a picture of the effigy banner which was hung from a footbridge near Salford.
Pro EU campaigners also marched through the city to demand Britain does not Brexit
Mounted police escorted the pro-EU march as it snaked through Manchester
Protesters carried balloons and the EU flags aloft as they marched through Manchester
He wrote: ‘What a charming welcome to Manchester and the Conservative Party Conference. These aren’t protesters, they’re fascists.’
He later added: ‘And these people say they are ‘a Government in waiting’. Who will they hang next?’
Labour MPs have been quick to condemn the banner, claiming the banner does not represent the values of the party.
Lucy Powell, a Labour MP for the Manchester Central area where the banner was hung, tweeted: ‘On behalf of our city & my constituency, we’re sorry about this. We disagree with, & are angry with your policies, but we wish you no harm.’
A ‘ring of steel’ has been set-up around the Manchester Central conference centre and Midland Hotel, where a number of delegates are staying
The conference is expected to pump in an estimated £30million into the Labour-controlled city, with 9,400 rooms across 91 hotels booked out for the four-day event
Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner said she was ‘disgusted’ by the banner, adding it was drapped ‘not in my name’.
Another Labour MP Gareth Snell tweeted: ‘This is totally unacceptable and if people who did this think they speak for the Labour party, be assured they do not.’
Officers armed with snipers have been pictured on rooftops near the venues as Britain remains on high-alert following a series of terror threats.
Around 1,000 police officers will be on duty in the city for the four-day event while an estimated 50,000 protesters will march on the city.
A ‘ring of steel’ has been set-up around the Manchester Central conference centre and Midland Hotel, where a number of delegates are staying.
Airport-style security checks, concrete blocks and road closures have been put in place to help counter the threat of any terror attack, while delegates have been urged to hide any lanyard passes when not inside the conference.
Entrances into the venue have been set up away from where protesters can shout abuse or intimidate some of the 12,000 delegates in just another example of the precautions being taken to stop intimidation from protesters.
Greater Manchester Police insists it has upgraded its security measures this year, known as Operation Protector to avoid ugly scenes which saw 15 arrests in three days in 2015.
Senior officers have promised to take action against any protesters who ‘cross the line’.
Some 20,000 anti-Brexit marchers, including former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, will descend on the city in the morning as part of what they claim will be a ‘noisy’ but peaceful protest.
Later that day, an estimated 30,000 anti-austerity protesters will also take to the streets. Both protests will convene close to the conference venue.
Armed police are also on the street as authorities say they will be visible throughout the event
Sniffer dogs and a police handler have checked the main room of the Manchester Central convention centre
Chief Superintendent John O’Hare, who is leading the operation, said: ‘We have been really clear with protesters to say we are here to facilitate lawful, peaceful protest and will be doing everything can so they can exercise their right to free speech, to protest and express their opinion.
‘But with that comes a degree of responsibility. There is a line between what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable.
‘When that line is crossed and it becomes more intimidatory behaviour and people are in fear or oppressed then at that point we will take action.’
As many as 50,000 protesters are expected to take to Manchester tomorrow
Brexit tensions threaten to overshadow the Conservative conference tomorrow after Boris Johnson said the transition deal between Britain and the bloc should last ‘not a second more’ than two years.
His intervention ahead on the eve of the conference has been condemned by former education secretary and vocal Remain campaigner Nicky Morgan, who said people like Mr Johnson have ‘no place in a responsible government’.
In an interview with the Sun, the former Mayor of London said: ‘Am I impatient about it, do I want to get it done as fast as possible? Yes, absolutely. Do I want the delay to go on longer than two years? Not a second more.’
The conference is expected to pump in an estimated £30million into the Labour-controlled city, with 9,400 rooms across 91 hotels booked out for the four-day event.
Theresa May and her husband Philip have arrived at the Midland Hotel the day before the start of the conference