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| Five arrests during demonstration | Five arrests during demonstration |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Five people have been arrested for public order offences at an English Defence League (EDL) rally in Staffordshire. | |
| About 1,500 EDL supporters are at the rally in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent to protest about Islamic extremism. | |
| Up to 300 members from the group Unite Against Fascism have also gathered at the event in Hanley, police said. | |
| Staffordshire Police said more than 600 officers were keeping the peace between the groups. | Staffordshire Police said more than 600 officers were keeping the peace between the groups. |
| Supt Dave Mellor said disorder had been sporadic disorder since the rally began at 1500 GMT. | |
| Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh faith leaders signed a pledge against all forms of racism, ahead of the event on Saturday. | |
| The Right Rev Gordon Mursell, the Church of England Bishop of Stafford, said after signing the pledge on Thursday: "We believe that real diversity actually helps create a vibrant and attractive city. | |
| "The EDL and BNP think the opposite. That is why we oppose them." | |
| Staffordshire Police said it had sufficient officers in place to deal with the demonstration and had learnt "valuable lessons" from other police forces around the country, who had dealt with similar protests. | |
| Ninety people were arrested following clashes between EDL campaigners and anti-fascist supporters in Birmingham in September. |