The London Metropolitan Police arrested one of the organisers of the pro-Palestine rally on Saturday in central London after imposing restrictions banning protesters from marching towards the headquarters of the BBC.

Organisers denied claims made by the Met that protesters had forced their way through a police cordon to march towards the BBC after ending their protest in Whitehall. The police said 77 arrests were made during Saturday’s protest, which organisers estimated drew 100,000 people.

Among those arrested was Chris Nineham, the vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, who served as the chief steward for the national protest for Palestine. Footage taken by Middle East Eye showed police officers in riot gear surrounding Nineham and bundling him into the back of a police van after a small group of protesters left Whitehall to lay flowers in Trafalgar Square in commemoration of the deaths of Palestinian children.

Demonstrators said they wanted to “protest against the pro-Israel bias” of the BBC’s coverage of Gaza.