Hong Kong police fire teargas and charge at protesters

Officers move to disperse crowds after breakaway group stormed parliament building

Hong Kong police have fired teargas at demonstrators and moved to disperse crowds after protesters stormed the legislative council building and raised the territory's former colonial flag on the 22nd anniversary of its handover to China.

The dramatic scenes came after a peaceful march of half a million people made its way through other parts of the city as its deepest political crisis in two decades showed no sign of abating. For the past month protesters have been demanding the withdrawal of a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland as anger has grown against Hong Kong authorities and the territory's chief executive, Carrie Lam.