The head of the Metropolitan Police has apologised after ripping a microphone cover from a reporter as they tried to ask him a question.
Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley snatched the item from a Sky News reporter as he left the Cabinet Office in Westminster on Monday morning.
Sir Mark was asked if he was going to end “two-tier policing” when he picked the item up and appeared to walk off with it.
He later dropped it on the ground as he was followed by other journalists.
Sir Mark had been attending an emergency Cobra meeting as riots held by far-right protesters broke out across the country.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “The Commissioner had a positive and constructive meeting with the Prime Minister and partners across Government and policing.
“He was in a hurry to return to New Scotland Yard to take action on the agreed next steps.”
Sir Mark said on Monday evening: "This morning I was part of a positive and constructive Cobra meeting with the Prime Minister about our collective response to hateful behaviour and violent disorder across the country.
"There's been a story running all day about my exit from the meeting. This is a distraction from the critical events we are dealing with.
"It was agreed the Prime Minister would provide an update afterwards and it was not my place to speak publicly. In an effort to move a microphone out of my path I'm sorry that I knocked it to the floor. That was never my intention.
"We remain focused on the critical and urgent matters at hand."
Ministers and police chiefs descended on Downing Street for the meeting which will set out a response for the coming days in a bid to clamp down on further unrest.
Facing the biggest challenge to his premiership so far, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the nation on Sunday, telling perpetrators they would “regret” engaging in “far-right thuggery” and promising those involved in unrest that they would “face the full force of the law”.
While Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the courts are on “stand-by” to ensure “swift justice”.
The Home Office also brought in urgent measures on Sunday to make sure mosques were offered extra protection so any threats of more attacks on places of worship could be responded to quickly.
The demonstrations have sparked questions about two-tier policing in Britain, where right-wing protests are dealt with more harshly than left-wing ones.
Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel denied that police took different stances depending on who was protesting.
