Amsterdam’s mayor Eberhard van der Laan has given the go-ahead to a demonstration by anti-Islam movement Pegida in the Dutch capital in February.

However, no decision has yet been taken about whether the gathering can take place on Dam square in the centre of the capital.

‘We have the freedom to demonstrate and I have to make sure everyone can make use of that right,’ Van der Laan is quoted as saying by the Parool. One application for a counter demonstration has already been made, he said.

At a Pegida demonstration in Utrecht in October, there were 32 arrests.