Oxford Street: Suella Braverman tells police to hunt down culprits

Those responsible for the disorder witnessed in London's Oxford Street area should be "hunted down and locked up", the home secretary says.

Suella Braverman said on X: "We cannot allow the kind of lawlessness seen in some American cities to come to the streets of the UK."

On Wednesday, baton-wielding police clashed with dozens of people while officers on horseback dispersed crowds.

The Metropolitan Police said nine people were arrested.

The disorder came after social media videos urged people to turn up and cause disruption on Oxford Street.

The Met said it had handed out 34 dispersal orders, which enable police to exclude people from the area.

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

Mrs Braverman added: "The police have my full backing to do whatever necessary to ensure public order. Those responsible must be hunted down and locked up.

"I expect nothing less from the Metropolitan Police and have requested a full incident report."

There was a large police presence in Oxford Street on Wednesday afternoon, with mounted officers and police vans on the road and on side streets.

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

Some shops in Oxford Street and Regent Street closed their barriers as attempts were made to get inside. At those shops that stayed open, security guards stood at the entrances deciding who could go in.

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

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan had urged people who had seen the videos on social media not to go to Oxford Street, saying: "Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be a high-crime area."

By the evening, dozens of young people were seen making their way along Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End.

A McDonald's restaurant and a gift shop were briefly attacked and several fights broke out among those gathered, while the owner of a convenience store in Soho fought off about a dozen people he said stormed his shop trying to steal items.

As a result of patrols across the day, the Met Police said one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, one for a public offence and four others on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order.

The force added two people were also arrested in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery "following online social media posts".

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hellobbclondon@bbc.co.uk