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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Violence erupts at city protest | Violence erupts at city protest |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Violent clashes erupted between police and members of the English Defence League during a city centre protest. | Violent clashes erupted between police and members of the English Defence League during a city centre protest. |
| Some 500 demonstrators from the EDL marched through Nottingham shouting: "We want our country back." | Some 500 demonstrators from the EDL marched through Nottingham shouting: "We want our country back." |
| Earlier the EDL supporters had clashed with members of Unite Against Fascism, who held a counter protest in the city. | Earlier the EDL supporters had clashed with members of Unite Against Fascism, who held a counter protest in the city. |
| Police mounted on horses were forced to hold back some of the demonstrators with batons and punches were thrown at police on the cordons. | |
| Many of the EDL demonstrators had their faces covered with hooded tops and scarves and shouted anti-Islamic slogans. | Many of the EDL demonstrators had their faces covered with hooded tops and scarves and shouted anti-Islamic slogans. |
| 'No surrender' | 'No surrender' |
| Other protesters had Union Jacks and St George's flags which they either waved or wrapped around their shoulders as a police officer barked instructions at the crowd from a helicopter circling overhead. | Other protesters had Union Jacks and St George's flags which they either waved or wrapped around their shoulders as a police officer barked instructions at the crowd from a helicopter circling overhead. |
| Some of the group waved placards which read: "Protect Women, No To Sharia" and "No Surrender". | Some of the group waved placards which read: "Protect Women, No To Sharia" and "No Surrender". |
| The EDL insists it is not a racist organisation and has no links to the BNP and is simply standing against the threat of Islamic extremism. | The EDL insists it is not a racist organisation and has no links to the BNP and is simply standing against the threat of Islamic extremism. |
| If we don't have a protest then it's letting them come into town and say 'this is our place for the day', which it isn't Michael VickeryUnite Against Fascism | If we don't have a protest then it's letting them come into town and say 'this is our place for the day', which it isn't Michael VickeryUnite Against Fascism |
| A spokesman said they had planned the demo for Saturday as the Second Battalion the Mercian Regiment were holding a homecoming parade in Nottingham following a recent tour of Afghanistan. | A spokesman said they had planned the demo for Saturday as the Second Battalion the Mercian Regiment were holding a homecoming parade in Nottingham following a recent tour of Afghanistan. |
| Earlier the EDL and UAF exchanged hostile words in the city's Old Market Square. | Earlier the EDL and UAF exchanged hostile words in the city's Old Market Square. |
| Four people had been arrested for minor public order offences, police said. | Four people had been arrested for minor public order offences, police said. |
| As the Mercian Regiment paraded through the city in the morning thousands of Christmas shoppers gathered to watch the 500 troops. | As the Mercian Regiment paraded through the city in the morning thousands of Christmas shoppers gathered to watch the 500 troops. |
| 'Anti-British' | 'Anti-British' |
| The homecoming parade followed a six-month tour of duty in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, where the regiment lost five soldiers and dozens of its men were injured. | The homecoming parade followed a six-month tour of duty in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan, where the regiment lost five soldiers and dozens of its men were injured. |
| A 43-year-old EDL member, a serving soldier who did not want to be named, said: "We came here to support our lads, and the UAF and other militants have turned up. | A 43-year-old EDL member, a serving soldier who did not want to be named, said: "We came here to support our lads, and the UAF and other militants have turned up. |
| "I think it's disgusting. I look at their protest and there's a Pakistani flag flying with a Muslim symbol. Their protest isn't against the EDL, they're protesting against the troops and it's anti-British. | "I think it's disgusting. I look at their protest and there's a Pakistani flag flying with a Muslim symbol. Their protest isn't against the EDL, they're protesting against the troops and it's anti-British. |
| "They haven't got one Union Jack or St George's Flag. I'm not a fascist, I'm not a Nazi but I am British." | "They haven't got one Union Jack or St George's Flag. I'm not a fascist, I'm not a Nazi but I am British." |
| Michael Vickery, from the UAF, said: "It's not good enough not to have any kind of a response (to the EDL presence) because basically, if we don't have a protest then it's letting them come into town and say 'this is our place for the day', which it isn't, it belongs to everyone in Nottingham." | Michael Vickery, from the UAF, said: "It's not good enough not to have any kind of a response (to the EDL presence) because basically, if we don't have a protest then it's letting them come into town and say 'this is our place for the day', which it isn't, it belongs to everyone in Nottingham." |