The PSNI has banned members of its riot squad from wearing emblems on uniforms after an officer was pictured with a patch similar to insignia used by a far-right militia group in the US.

The officer, who is s a member of the Tactical Support Group (TSG), was pictured wearing the distinctive patch while policing an anti-racism protest outside Belfast city hall on Saturday.

Just yards away far-right protesters holding both tricolours and union flag held a separate anti-immigration rally.

The controversial uniform patch appears to show a gladiator-style helmet and includes the Roman numeral for the number three.

In the past a similar symbol has been linked to the US and Canada based far right militia, the Three Percenters.

The group advocates gun ownership and resistance to the US government.

It has previously been reported that it is among the ‘most dangerous’ in north America.

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Chief Superintendent Amanda Ford said the wearing of emblems has now been halted.

“Having made enquiries into the wearing of emblems by our tactical support groups following on from images captured during disorder in Belfast on Saturday evening, we can confirm that some units have designed an emblem that represents their identification colour/number and these have been worn on their uniform during deployments.

“The designs were not based on any other groups or affiliations and were intended purely for the identification of each individual unit and for ease of reference for supervisors when units are working together.

“They were never intended to cause any offence.

“They do not comply with our uniform standards however and will not be worn again. "