London: Thousands of people in rallied in central London to demand freedom for a British commentator who was jailed for contempt of court after he broadcast outside a criminal trial for the second time.

The subject of the Saturday event was Tommy Robinson, the pseudonym of 35-year- old Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Robinson founded the English Defence League, an anti- Muslim protest group. He was arrested May 25 after livestreaming from outside a child sexual exploitation trial.

Video footage showed activists marching with "Free Tommy" placards and far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who attended the event, telling the crowd: "We will not be silenced." A small number of demonstrators pushed police and tried to breach metal barricades in front of the British prime minister's office.

"There were scenes of violence which saw bottles, metal barriers and other objects thrown at officers," London's Metropolitan police said on Saturday.

Five officers were injured, none seriously, the police department said. Five people were arrested on various charges, including one arrest for possession of an offensive weapon.