Topshop protest: Activists clash with police during demonstration against fashion giant

Activists scuffled with police and brought traffic to a standstill in central London as they staged a protest against Topshop.

About 150 protesters descended on Oxford Circus chanting “Topshop, shame on you” and holding banners aloft in a demonstration over cleaners’ wages.

Flares were let off as the crowd filled the middle of the busy junction beside the fashion giant’s store and halted traffic for about 20 minutes.

They then marched down Oxford Street, rushing towards the entrance of a John Lewis store where police scrambled to stop them entering and faced off with several protesters.

The protesters were calling for a "living wage" for cleaners who work at the fashion giant.

They also claimed two cleaners had been sacked or suspended after joining a union and held banners saying “Reinstate the Topshop Two”.

Aysan Dennis, from protest group Class War, said: “We want our voices heard. This is a class war.”

The group later gathered outside Marble Arch Topshop, forcing the store to close its shutters, leaving dozens of shoppers locked inside for around 15 minutes.

A large number of police officers surrounded the store to keep them out.

Teresa Grey, from United Voices Of The World, said the group took to the streets to "make their voices heard."

She said: "Two Topshop cleaners joined our union. For that, one was sacked, the other suspended."

A spokeswoman said Topshop's cleaners are employed by another firm, as it outsources the work.

The suspension and dismissal had nothing to do with joining a union, she said.

They are £7.50 an hour - above the national minimum wage of £7.20 but below the London Living Wage, set at £9.40 per hour.