Rowley: Far-right rioters are criminal thugs not patriots

Sir Mark Rowley has hailed a 'successful' police operation which saw thousands of officers deployed across London to tackle planned protests by far-right extremists on Wednesday night. Speaking after a dawn raid on suspects in south London on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police commissioner said around 70% of those arrested for public order offences had existing criminal records and were 'criminal thugs' not patriots.