Hong Kong protesters waved union jacks and sang "God save the Queen" outside the British consulate on Sunday, defying an earlier protest ban.

Activists threw molotov cocktails and bricks at police barriers, while officers blasted protesters with water canons and tear gas.

The march was the largest since Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government was withdrawing the incendiary extradition bill that has sparked months of protest in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

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Pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong waved union jacks and sang "God save the Queen" outside the British consulate before violence erupted in the province again.

At the largest round of protests since chief executive Carrie Lam withdrew a bill that would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China, police blasted demonstrators with a chemically tainted, blue-dyed liquid from water cannon that would allow them to be identified later and arrested.

Conventional waters cannons were also deployed along with tear gas, after activists threw Molotov cocktails and bricks at police barriers outside the city's government office.

Police had earlier refused a request by the Civil Human Rights Front to hold the protest action - with thousands turning up to the march from the Causeway Bay shopping street to the city's business district.

"I feel this is our duty," 50-year-old protester Winne Leung, said. "The government wants to block us with the ban, but I want to say that the people will not be afraid".

Anti-government protesters hold up banners, placards, Union Jack flags as they gather at the British consulate General in Hong Kong, China, September 15, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

The march was the largest since Ms Lam said the government was withdrawing the extradition bill "in order to fully allay public concerns".

The decision has not stopped the protests, which have since focused on democracy in the region.

Hundreds of activists met outside the British consulate, on Sunday. Some chanted "UK save Hong Kong" while waving union jack flags.

Others sang "God Save the Queen".

Some carried banners declaring the one country, two systems policy deployed by Beijing "dead".

Read more: Hong Kong's government scraps the incendiary extradition bill that has sparked months of protests

The action followed on from similar rallies outside the British and US consulates this month.

Those marches were also marked by the kind of violence and vandalism that has become almost routine in the semi-autonomous state.

Chinese flags and banners marking the communist party's 70th year in power were torn down and burned, while windows and surveillance cameras at a subway station were smashed.

In the North Point area police let tear gas rain down on protestors blocking roads, while shops including the Sogo department store – one of the city's largest – closed their doors.