A St George's Day rally in London descended into chaos today as riot officers clashed with crowds and a police horse was attacked near Downing Street.

Mounted police intervened after a group broke through a cordon formed to stop people moving past the area that had been allocated for the event.

This led to scuffles breaking out, with footage appearing to show one of the horses being struck by a man with an umbrella.

The melee happened just before the main rally at 3 pm, where Tommy Robinson and Laurence Fox joined crowds singing along to songs including Sweet Caroline.

The Met said officers were forced to respond when a group 'violently' forced through police blockades.

But it prompted claims of 'two-tier policing', with critics suggesting pro-Palestine marchers were treated more favorably.

The Met shared a video that appears to show officers forming a cordon but a group, some waving flags and others wearing St George's flags, pushing past it before two mounted officers on horses intervene.

A spokesman said: 'The event is not due to start for an hour and regrettably officers are already dealing with disorder.

'There is an area allocated for this event in Richmond Terrace. This group went past it and continued up Whitehall.

'When officers formed a cordon and asked the group to turn round, they reacted by violently forcing their way through. Mounted officers intervened with horses to restore the cordon.'

The Met said no further incidents had been reported at the rally, which passed off peacefully.

Among those giving speeches were Tommy Robinson, former leader of the English Defence League, while Laurence Fox - leader of The Reclaim Party - was also in attendance.