UKIP’s plans to march through Glasgow to urge “mass deportations” collapsed into farce on Saturday as marchers backed away in the face of hundreds of counterprotesters.

Glasgow City Council had given the go-ahead for the anti-migrant march, but as dozens of far-right military cosplayers and Spice Girl impersonators sporting Union Jack dresses gathered around visiting “defender of masculinity” Nick Tenconi, tensions soon surfaced with the appearance of far-right rivals Patriotic Alternative.

As the far right bickered, hundreds of trade unionists and anti-fascists gathered on nearby Buchanan Street at Stand Up to Racism’s counterdemonstration to block the intended route of the march.

As the allotted time came and went, it became clear the fractured far right were incapable of marching.

Instead, officers drafted in from Leicestershire to deal with US President Donald Trump’s private visit ushered the crestfallen Kippers and their pals from the city centre towards the cathedral.

Determined to see them off, the anti-fascist counterdemonstrators followed before being kettled at nearby City of Glasgow College.

A short-lived scuffle ensued when about a dozen masked, black-shirted far-right activists escaped a police cordon and made for the counterdemonstration but they were soon escorted away by police under a hail of eggs and chants of “Nazi scum off our streets.”

One counterdemonstrator, who asked not to be named, told the Star: “We defeated them today, they left with their tails between their legs.

“We can’t be complacent though. It’s one thing going toe-to-toe with them on days like today, but we need to stop it going this far.

“Politicians need to start taking this seriously. People like [Prime Minister Keir] Starmer need to spend less time copying and pasting anti-migrant chat and start delivering for the working class.”