Why was there chaos on Oxford Street yesterday?

Police have arrested nine people and issued dozens of dispersal orders after chaos ensued on London’s Oxford Street thanks to a robbery campaign organised on social media.

Hundreds of teenagers gathered outside JD Sports on Wednesday after viral posts on Snapchat and TikTok urged users to take part in an “Oxford Circus JD robbery” at 3pm.

"Don't come if you can't run," the post reportedly said. It also urged people not to bring weapons.

Two young men were led away from an area near a McDonald's in handcuffs, close to a shop rumoured to be a target.

Security guards at nearby stores including Muji, an opticians, and Boots locked their customers inside their stores for several minutes.

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Meanwhile, onlookers recorded the chaos on their phones.

Just after 8pm, the Metropolitan police said it issued 34 dispersal orders and arrested nine people. A statement read: “Four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order, one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one person arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, and one person was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.

“Earlier in the afternoon, officers arrested two people in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery following online social media posts.”

Earlier, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, urged people not to take part. He said: “I am worried about this nonsense we have seen on TikTok encouraging people to go to Oxford Street.”

I’d encourage anybody who’s seen it not to go to Oxford Street. Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be a high-crime area.”

Police in Westminster had said there would be police in the area. In a Twitter post they said: “We are aware of online speculation about opportunities to commit crime around Oxford Street. There will be a significant number of our officers in the area over the next 24 hours.”

Some of those who had gathered said they were there out of curiosity. Harry, 14, from Islington, told the Guardian: “I’m not here to steal anything, I’ve been raised better than that.”

Meanwhile, CJ, 16, from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, told the publication: “We’re not here to steal stuff – there’s loads of famous people making videos. We just saw loads of police and want to see what it’s about.”

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