Islamic protesters sparked fury today after they burned a model of a poppy and deliberately broke the silence at Armistice Day commemorations in central London. As millions of Britons fell silent to remember those who have died in war, members of a group called Muslims Against Crusades clashed with police during an 'emergency demonstration' in Kensington, west London. As the clock struck 11am, the Islamic protesters burned a model of a poppy and chanted 'British soldiers burn in hell'. Inflaming tensions: The Muslim protesters set fire to a poppy near Hyde Park today They held banners which read 'Islam will dominate' and 'Our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hell'. The Muslims Against Crusades website includes graphic images of children wounded in warfare and the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib. The protest, in Exhibition Road, near Hyde Park, involved about 50 people while about another 50 counter-demonstrators had to be kept apart from the group by a line of police. Three men were arrested at the scene - two for public order offences and one for assaulting a police officer. Shameful: Muslim protesters break the Armistice Day silence in central London today Lack of respect: Police escort Muslim protesters towards South KensingtonTube station after they began a protest in west London Clashes: English Defence League counter-demonstrators face off against police An English Defence League counter-demonstrator is led away from the scene Asad Ullah, of Muslims Against Crusades, said: 'We are demonstrating because this day is a day of remembrance to remember every single fallen soldier, including those killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. 'We find it disgusting that innocent people, innocent children, have been killed in an illegal and unjust war and we are demonstrating against that. 'We want the Government to pull the troops out from these countries and to stop interfering in our affairs.' Mr Ullah added: 'We would like to have a protest closer to the memorial but it is difficult to get access. We want to break the silence and say, "What about the silence for others that have died?'" Earlier this year, members of the group were involved in violent clashes with far-Right groups during a troop march in Barking, east London. A series of incendiary comments were posted on a social networking website linked to the English Defence League. Some members pledged to attend while others showered the Islamic group with abuse and criticised police for allowing the demonstration to take place. An English Defence League protester is taken from the scene by a police officer today English Defence League protester Clive Donnellan, 49, a construction manager said: 'The MAC could have chosen a more sensitive day to protest. They are preaching hate and although it's great to have free speech this shouldn't be happening today. They can come down any other day and say what they think.' It is understood the event took place in Kensington because it is outside a protected zone around Parliament where spontaneous protests are banned. Police were questioning people they suspected were preparing to travel to Kensington after arriving at Victoria Station. It is thought Muslims Against Crusades is a splinter group of Islam4UK, founded by Anjem Choudary. Elsewhere as the clock struck 11am, the nation paused to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day, when peace returned to Europe at the end of the First World War. Prime Minister David Cameron marks Remembrance Day with Brigadier David Greenwood (left) at Gloster Valley, South Korea, where he is attending a G20 summit Wearing their poppies with pride, people joined in the two-minute silence as various commemoration services and events were held around the country. The agreement between Germany and the Allies after four years of fighting took effect at the 'eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month' of 1918. Defence Secretary Liam Fox and the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams joined war heroes, service personnel, veterans, military associations and schoolchildren for a service of remembrance at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, central London. The road was closed and crowds lined the street for the poignant ceremony and wreath-laying. Amid grey skies and damp conditions, there was applause as Victoria and George Cross holders took their places around the monument. David Cameron (4th left) at the Korean National War Memorial in Seoul along with French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde (left), Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (2nd left) and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard (3rd left) Prime Minister David Cameron marks Remembrance Day at Gloster Valley, South Korea where he laid a wreath David Cameron marked Remembrance Day by laying a wreath at the site of the British Army's bloodiest battle since the end of the Second World War. The 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, were cut off and surrounded by vastly superior Chinese Communist forces during the Battle of the Imjin River from April 22 to 25, 1951, in the Korean War. Running short of water and ammunition, the 'Glorious Glosters' held their hilltop position through a full day and a night, repelling waves of Chinese attackers. Some 59 men died in the defence of the hill and 526 were taken prisoner - 180 of them wounded. Another 34 men died in captivity. But their heroic stand delayed the advance of the Communist troops, preventing them from outflanking the forces of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations. Mark of respect: Lloyds insurance employees observe the silence at a ceremony at the HQ in London Helping the injured: Julie Dove from the Poppy Appeal attends an Armistice Day service at Chester Cathedral with a member of the 1st Battalion the Mercians who lost his legs in combat Fallen family: Jonny Osborne, 7, at the Cenotaph in Whitehall to honour his two great uncles, signalman Len Burton and sapper Lawrence Burton who were both missing in action during the war As a result, the Allied forces were able to take up positions at a defensible line further south and prevent a direct assault on capital Seoul. Two Victoria Crosses were awarded for valour, including to the Glosters' commander Lieutenant-Colonel James Carne, who was one of those taken prisoner. Sombrely dressed in dark coat and tie and sporting a red poppy on his lapel, the Prime Minister was joined by the defence attache at the UK's Seoul embassy, Brigadier David Greenwood, to lay a wreath of poppies at a memorial to the Glosters. Mr Cameron - who is in South Korea for a summit of the G20 group of major economies - spent a few moments in silent contemplation at the memorial in what is now known by grateful Koreans as Gloster Valley. The 29th Brigade, of which the Glosters formed part, suffered 1,091 casualties, dead, wounded or missing during the Imjin River offensive, while the Chinese casualties are thought to have reached around 10,000. A total of 1,078 UK troops died and 2,674 were wounded during the Korean War from 1950-53. Mr Cameron later participated in a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Korean National War Memorial in Seoul. Along with his Canadian and Australian counterparts Stephen Harper and Julia Gillard and French finance minister Christine Lagarde, the Prime Minister laid a wreath at the memorial to United Nations troops who died in the Korean War. Concern: At Westminster Abbey, the Duke of Edinburgh shakes hands with Lauren Levy (right) whose ex-boyfriend Andrew Griffiths died in Afghanistan Tribute: Poppies are thrown into a fountain at Trafalgar Square, central London Hero: Private Johnson Beharry, who won the Victoria Cross, speaks to Defence Secretary Liam Fox at a service of remembrance at the Cenotaph Not forgotten: Lucy Aldridge with her sons George, seven (left) and Archie, five, at Bredenbury War Memorial, Herefordshire, look at the name of her son, Rifleman William Aldridge, who was killed, aged 18, in Afghanistan in 2009 Mr Cameron met around 40 British veterans of the war who had come on a trip organised by the Korean Veterans Association and subsidised by the Seoul government. Bob Huyton, 79, of Telford, Shropshire, was a 19-year-old on National Service when he served in Korea with the Royal Army Ordnance, helping transport the wounded back from the front line to Seoul. 'It was a tough war', he said. 'We were caught up in two ambushes and I lost one of my best friends. I'm hoping to find his grave in the Pusan war cemetery before I go back. 'I've been meaning to come back for a long time, and it's been very emotional. You'd hardly recognise it was the same country, it's changed so much, but all the memories come flooding back.'Poppy-burning Muslim protesters mar Armistice Day commemorations as millions fall silent to remember war dead
Last updated at 4:16 PM on 11th November 2010
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Thursday, 11 November 2010
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