It has been revealed that youths who brought the City to a standstill by fighting with rocks, clubs and knives had been attending a course at Pinsent Masons.

A large section of the Square Mile was cordoned off on Monday 24 February last year after six men fought a running battle though Bishopsgate. The fight began at 2pm outside Liverpool Street Station before spilling out into the road, and was so serious that City workers were instructed to stay inside their offices. Bishopsgate was roped off by police until the evening, causing traffic gridlock.

A witness said there was “blood everywhere”, adding “One of the victims, a black man, was on the floor and didn’t look too good. He was holding the left side of his stomach”.  An RBS employee told the Evening Standard, “I looked out my window and it was really eerie - just loads of police but the rest of the road quiet". Six men were arrested, including three who received hospital treatment for their injuries.

Investigators bag and tag a suspicious branded pen

"There's loads of rumours", said the RBS employee, "including that the men worked at RBS". However, it has now emerged that they came from Pinsent Masons, although they were visitors rather than staff or enraged partners. At the Old Bailey, the court heard how the six streetfighters, aged between 19 and 22, were attending a course run by the firm as part of its work with Tomorrow's People, a charity which seeks to help disadvantaged young people into jobs.

A source told RollOnFriday that the defendants were attending a CV workshop when three of them fell out with the other three. After leaving Pinsent Masons' office at Crown Place the men started fighting with rocks, clubs and knives, as passers-by ran to safety. One CV workshopper, Raheem Simon, was seen to kung fu kick a coursemate in the head before collapsing in Bishopsgate after being stabbed.

There was no way he was going to cram his résumé onto one side of A4. No way.

All six have been found guilty of affray and possession of an offensive weapon. They have each been fined up to £500 and sentenced to between six and 12 months in a Young Offenders Institute.

A Pinsent Masons spokesman told RollOnFriday, "We are proud of the work we have done with Tomorrow's People over several years to help and support some of the most disadvantaged young people in the UK". He said the incident "highlights both the scale of the challenge faced, and importance of the work that Tomorrow’s People and similar organisations undertake to meet it".