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They joined demonstrations around the world over police treatment of ethnic minorities, sparked by the death of Mr Floyd, a black American, on May 25 in Minneapolis. A white police officer detaining him knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Some wore face masks to protect against coronavirus bearing the slogan “racism is a virus”.

While others were wearing T-shirts reading “I can’t breathe”, another protester had written “get your knee off our necks” in luminous ink on the back of his jacket, in an echo of the words black civil rights leader Rev Al Sharpton said at the memorial service for Mr Floyd.

The London protest was peaceful, with people clapping, taking to one knee, waving placards and chanting “George Floyd” and “the UK is not innocent”.

Pauline Nandoo, 60, said she had been protesting about the issue of racism since the 1970s and images of violence at the end of Saturday’s protest had not deterred her.

Ms Nandoo, who was with her brother and 13-year-old daughter, said: “There’s children of all ages and older adults here.

“They are going to experience what we have experienced and we have to try to make that not happen.”

Chaniya La Rose, a 17-year-old student who was at the protest with her family, said: “It just needs to stop now.

“It shouldn’t have to be this hard to be equal.”

Free masks, gloves and hand gel were being given out to the thousands of people who were demonstrating outside the US Embassy in London.

The London protests come as an estimated 4,000 people are expected at a gathering in Bristol and demonstrations will also be held in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It comes after thousands of protesters gathered in central London in a demonstration on Saturday that was peaceful but ended with small numbers of people clashing with mounted police near Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street residence.

Demonstrations were carried out peacefully for much of the afternoon but disturbances began breaking out at around 6pm outside Downing Street.

Scuffles broke out when objects were thrown towards officers wearing protective gear, with mounted police called in to drive some of the demonstrators back along Whitehall.

Video footage appeared to show an officer colliding with a traffic light before their horse ran through a crowd of protesters, sending them scattering.

The Metropolitan Police later confirmed a female officer fell from the horse and had been taken to hospital. Her injuries are not life-threatening.

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London Police chief Cressida Dick said 27 officers had been injured in “shocking and completely unacceptable” assaults during anti-racism protests in central London this week, including 14 on Saturday.

Dame Cressida said in a statement that there was “no place for violence” in the capital.

She said: “I am deeply saddened and depressed that a minority of protesters became violent towards officers in central London yesterday evening.

“This led to 14 officers being injured, in addition to 13 hurt in earlier protests this week.

“We have made a number of arrests and justice will follow. The number of assaults is shocking and completely unacceptable.

“I know many who were seeking to make their voices heard will be as appalled as I am by those scenes. There is no place for violence in our city.

“Officers displayed extreme patience and professionalism throughout a long and difficult day, and I thank them for that.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that while the majority of protesters were peaceful, pockets of violence was “simply not acceptable”.

He said: “I stand with you and share your anger and pain. George Floyd’s brutal killing must lead to immediate and lasting change in countries, cities, police services and institutions everywhere. We must root out racism wherever it is found.

“The vast majority of protesters in London were peaceful. But this vital cause was badly let down by a tiny minority who turned violent and threw glass bottles and lit flares, endangering other protesters and injuring police officers.

“This is simply not acceptable, will not be tolerated and will not win the lasting and necessary change we desperately need to see.”

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