100,000 Londoners join protests around the world marching for equality – and against Donald Trump

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Over 100,000 people marched through London today in support of women’s rights, joining groups around the world in protests spurred by the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President against discriminatory policy.

Protesters marched from the US embassy in Mayfair to Trafalgar Square to show support for a wide variety of causes, including equality and access to reproductive healthcare.

The Women’s March on London was one of a series of events taking place around the world, led by the Women’s March on Washington (WMW). 671 marches are set to take place across the world, according to the WMW website.

Read more: In pictures: Women march against Trump in London and around the world

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators from around the US are expected at the Washington march, potentially outnumbering the people present for President Trump's inauguration.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan welcomed the march, saying London is showing "how much we value the rights every woman should have."

Speakers addressed the event at Trafalgar Square from multiple political parties and movements. They included Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Yvette Cooper, as well as Liberal Democrat MP Sara Olney and comedian Sara Pascoe.

Sophie Walker, leader of the Women’s Equality political party, one of the event’s partners, said: “There is a temptation to respond to Donald Trump’s presidency as if this were business as usual. This is not business as usual.”

"This march is a show of strength in the face of racism, sexism and misogyny unleashed during the US presidential campaign and, here, the debate over Brexit,” she added. “The intolerance and divisiveness that characterised the politics of 2016 must not be allowed to poison the world for years to come.”

Marches are also taking place throughout the UK, including in Belfast, Cardiff, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh.