Riot police surrounded up to 240 demonstrators in central London, many wearing scarves covering their faces, who broke away from a rally in Trafalgar Square .Up to 200 were tracked by a police helicopter as they ransacked the coffee shops in Piccadilly and Shaftesbury Avenue while 40 more were contained in Hyde Park, thought to be on their way to the Israeli embassy in Kensington.
The United States coffee chain has recently been the subject of an internet boycott campaign amid claims it donates profits to Israel – an accusation it strongly denies.
Commander Bob Broadhurst, in charge of public order policing for the Metropolitan Police, said: "Once again what we have witnessed in London today is a group of thugs, who are not interested in lawful protest, run through the streets smashing shops without care for the alarm they caused the public.
"Thousands of people expressed their views in an earlier, lawful, rally in Trafalgar Square...What followed was totally unacceptable criminal behaviour by a small minority who do not appear to care about any cause. Their behaviour was inexcusable as they took part in wanton criminality."
Police said the London rally was attended by 3,500 people while organisers of a rally in Birmingham said more than 5,000 turned up.
An Israeli flag was set alight at the rally outside Birmingham's Council House in Victoria Square.
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