Clashes broke out in central London on Saturday as far-right activist Tommy Robinson led one of the largest far-right protests in Britain. Police said up to 150,000 people attended the “Unite the Kingdom” rally, making it one of the largest demonstrations of its kind in recent years.Under the banner “Unite the Kingdom,” tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across the Thames and past Big Ben, carrying Union Jacks and English and Scottish flags.
The Metropolitan Police reported that 26 officers were injured, four seriously, after facing “unacceptable violence” while trying to manage the crowds. Officers said they were assaulted with kicks, punches, bottles, flares, and other projectiles as some protesters attempted to enter so-called “sterile areas” near counter-protesters. Police made 25 arrests.
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In a post on X, the police said: “An update as of 16:50hrs. The turnout for the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest was too big to fit into Whitehall. Protesters left the route onto Victoria Embankment and sought to access Whitehall from multiple directions as shown on the map below. When officers moved in to stop them they faced unacceptable violence. They were assaulted with kicks and punches. Bottles, flares and other projectiles were thrown. Nine arrests have been made so far for various offences, but many more people have been identified as committing offences. We will find them and they will face police action, even if it is not possible to do so today. Officers are continuing to face aggression in multiple locations, in particular at the north of Whitehall as they work to create a safe exit route for those who have been taking part in the Stand Up To Racism protest.”The police estimated the crowd between 110,000 and 150,000, far exceeding organisers’ estimates. Reinforcements with helmets and riot shields were brought in to support more than 1,000 officers on duty.Robinson promoted the event as a defence of British culture and free speech, declaring it a “force of patriotism never seen before.”In a post on X, Robinson further claimed that over three million people had joined the rally in central London, while slamming the media reports that stated that only 110,000 people had gathered during the rally.“Over THREE million patriots hit central London today in a force of patriotism never seen before. And we’re just getting started,” Robinson stated in a post on X.The rival “March Against Fascism” protest, organized by Stand Up To Racism, attracted around 5,000 participants. According to police, both groups threw projectiles at each other, and some Unite the Kingdom protesters also attacked officers.
Why were they protesting
The “Unite the Kingdom” rally focused on migration and national identity. Leaders and speakers, including Robinson and far-right European politicians, highlighted concerns over migrants’ rights, the so-called “great replacement” of Europeans, and what they called unchecked migration into the UK. Supporters also expressed opposition to government policies, while Elon Musk criticised the UK government’s handling of migration via video address.Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, founded the English Defense League and is a leading figure in Britain’s far-right scene. The march was billed as a demonstration for free speech, but much of the rhetoric focused on migration, an issue confronting several European countries.Far-right French politician Eric Zemmour told the crowd: “We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European people by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture, you and we are being colonized by our former colonies.”Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and owner of X, appeared via video and criticised the UK government: “There’s something beautiful about being British and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion, but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration.”Robinson told the crowd that migrants now had more rights in court than the “British public, the people that built this nation.”The marches come amid debate in the UK over migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. Anti-migrant protests have taken place this summer outside hotels housing asylum-seekers, sometimes turning violent after the arrest and conviction of an Ethiopian man for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.
