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Laws should be introduced to ban protestors from wearing masks when participating in demonstrations, the Lords has heard.
The government was urged to change the law following the violent scenes that have accompanied recent anti-tuition fees protests in Westminster and central London.
Conservative peer Baroness Miller asked if the government would "introduce public order legislation prohibiting the wearing of masks or disguises at otherwise lawful demonstrations, marches and protest meetings".
During oral questions, government spokesman Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Lib Dem) said the police already have powers to "require the removal of face coverings worn for the purpose of the concealing of identity", and rejected calls for an outright ban.
He said that the tradition of policing in the UK is "by consent and to maintain as far as possible the trust of the public with whom the police are working".
"It is therefore a matter of judgement for the police whether someone who puts on a mask during a demonstration in the middle of a very large crowd should immediately be arrested," he told peers.
"We have to trust the judgment of the police on that.
"I am assured that a number of the arrests that took place at the end of and since recent demonstrations were of people who put on masks during part of the demonstrations."
Former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Lord Condon called for a "proportioned and balanced" approach and said masks could actually help identify potential troublemakers.
He said: "There is a long history of masks and disguises being used peacefully by protesters as part of their repertoire of raising and ridiculing issues and sometimes individuals.
"Paradoxically, by donning a mask out of context, protesters can draw attention to themselves as potential troublemakers who are worthy of additional attention."
Tory peer Baroness O'Cathain stated: "Do you realise how terrifying this situation is when there are a mass of people protesting and people come up wearing masks?
"That might be fine for great strong men like you, but it isn't fine for a lot of people.
"The arguments against banning masks just do not hold water.
"Surely if there was a rule which stated that masks could not be worn, someone wearing a mask would be arrested. That would be the law. Why cannot we have it?"
In response, Lord Wallace said: "One simply has to ask whether it helps when police are attempting to control a very large demonstration to ask for police snatch squads to try to go in to the middle of a demonstration to seize particular demonstrators, which is in effect what the noble Lord is asking for. We have to leave this to the judgment of the police on the day."
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