Dozens of Tamils arrested as they blockade Parliament Square

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Police arrested 36 protesters as they were overwhelmed when the crowd surged from Parliament Square on to roads to begin a sit-down protest they warned could go on all night.

Protests have been taking place in the square for more than a month over civil war in Sri Lanka, but protesters say the decision to cause "as much disruption as possible" came after the UN described the situation in the north of the country as a "blood bath".

A stand-off with police was expected as Tamil students said they were prepared to block the road for "as long as it takes". Harry Premachandralal, a 19-year-old economics student from Croydon, said: "We have it confirmed that 350 innocent civilians have been killed by the Sri Lankan army... Our sources say up to 1,000 people have been killed.

"We decided to charge at the police this morning to turn heads. There were only about 15 police officers at the front of the square and they weren't prepared for us." He added that the British Government must do more to encourage a ceasefire.

Raadaniya Pararajasingan, 19, a student from Dartford, said: "The police lost control. They tried to stop us but we are very angry. We have been here for 34 days and Sri Lanka are still killing our people. Britain must do more."

Hundreds of protesters shouting slogans took up several junctions surrounding the House of Commons. At mid-day they fell silent for one minute to honour victims.

The Sri Lankan army has denied shelling the safe zone for civilians. However the UN confirmed that at least 378 people were killed over the weekend.