Anti Margaret Thatcher party in Trafalgar square - video by John Domokos and Mustafa Khalili guardian.co.uk

About 3,000 people gathered in the rain in Trafalgar Square on Saturday night to "celebrate" the demise of Margaret Thatcher. A few people chanted obscenities and at least two bottles were thrown at police, with the call of "Maggie Maggie Maggie, dead dead dead" ringing out intermittently.

Police made nine arrests for public order offences but, in general, the crowd of mixed ages and gender were peaceful as they protested late into the evening.

"Some people here have a visceral hatred of Thatcher and what she did but most of us here from a younger generation are here in protest at the attempt by the establishment and parts of the media to detoxify Thatcher and her politics," said Marcus Schneider, a 24-year-old video editor from north London. "So it's important and cathartic for people to voice their dissent."

Late into the evening, people danced to drums under the watchful eyes of hundreds of police officers but the event was more like a party than a protest.

Kirsty Larain, 25, part-time student and part-time carer, had arrived at a soaked Trafalgar Square to protest against "neo-liberalism" but admitted: "I am sceptical of the political meaningfulness, but it is positive that a lot of people have come together."