LONDON – More than 100,000 people have joined a march in central London organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, with a counter-protest by anti-racism campaigners also taking place. Protesters forming the “Unite the Kingdom” rally gathered in Whitehall where they heard a series of speeches including from tech billionaire Elon Musk, via videolink. The Metropolitan Police said nine people had been arrested for various offences and added there had been “significant aggression”, with some officers being “attacked with projectiles” . Meanwhile, the Met estimates about 5,000 people have joined the nearby counter-protest organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR). Some 1,000 Met Police officers have been deployed, with barriers in place to create a “sterile area” between the two groups. The Met said it had borrowed 500 officers from other forces for the day, with police vans from Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Devon and Cornwall. Just after 15:00 BST, the two demonstrations were divided on Whitehall by a line of police officers. One side waved placards saying “refugees welcome. Stop the far right”, and the other Unite the Kingdom group flew Union and St George’s flags. The Met said some officers had been attacked while trying to keep the groups apart. “Officers are having to intervene in multiple locations to stop Unite the Kingdom protesters trying to access sterile areas, breach police cordons or get to opposing groups,” the Met said on X.
“A number of officers have been assaulted.” Extra riot police could be seen rushing through the crowd of Stand Up To Racism supporters to back up the horses and officers holding lines between the two protest groups.
Some officers could be seen taking out batons at about 16:25 as they tried to push back Robinson supporters who had gathered near Trafalgar Square.
Projectiles – including glass bottles, metal poles and beer cans – have been thrown at police officers from Unite the Kingdom protesters. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, addressed the crowds on Whitehall, criticising politicians for “parroting” his ideas.
He also claimed UK courts had decided the rights of undocumented migrants superseded those of the “local community”.
Last month, the Court of Appeal overturned an injunction blocking asylum seekers being housed at The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
TV presenter Katie Hopkins also spoke after earlier appearing alongside Robinson, Lawrence Fox and Ant Middleton at the front of the march.
Musk made a surprise appearance via videolink, calling for a “change of government”.
