A London march organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson drew more than 110,000 people and became unruly on Saturday as a small group of his supporters clashed with police officers who were separating them from counter-protesters.
Several officers were punched, kicked and struck by bottles tossed by people at the fringes of the “Unite the Kingdom” rally, London Metropolitan Police said.
Reinforcements with helmets and riot shields were deployed to support the 1,000-plus officers on duty.
Photo: EPA
Twenty-six police officers were injured — four who were seriously hurt, including broken teeth and a concussion, a possible broken nose and a spinal injury.
At least 25 people were arrested for offenses including violent disorder, assaults and criminal damage, and the investigation continues, police said.
“There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence,” Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said. “They confronted officers, engaging in physical and verbal abuse and making a determined effort to breach cordons in place to keep everyone safe.”
The rally drew an estimated crowd of between 110,000 and 150,000 people, far surpassing expectations, police said.
The rival “March Against Fascism” protest organized by Stand Up To Racism had about 5,000 marchers.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, founded the nationalist and anti-Islam English Defense League and is one of the most influential far-right figures in the UK.
The march was billed as a demonstration in support of free speech — with much of the rhetoric by influencers and several far-right politicians from across Europe aimed largely at the alleged perils of migration.
“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,” far-right French politician Eric Zemmour said.
Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and owner of the X platform who has waded into British politics several times this year, was beamed in by video and condemned the left-leaning British 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,” he said.
Robinson told the crowd in a hoarse voice that migrants now had more rights in court than the “British public, the people that built this nation.”
Participants in the march carried the red-and-white flag of England and the union jack, the state flag of the UK, and chanted “we want our country back.”
Supporters held signs saying “stop the boats,” “send them home,” and “enough is enough, save our children.”
At the counter-protest, the crowd held signs saying “refugees welcome” and “smash the far right,” and shouted “stand up, fight back.”
The marches had been mostly peaceful, but toward the late afternoon, “Unite the Kingdom” supporters threw items at the rival rally and tried to break through barriers set up to separate the groups, police said.
Officers had to use force to keep a crowd-control fence from being breached.
While the crowd was large, it fell far short of the one of the biggest recent marches when a pro-Palestinian rally drew an estimated 300,000 people in November 2023.
Robinson had planned a “Unite the Kingdom” rally last October, but could not attend after being jailed for contempt of court for violating a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating libelous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him. He previously served jail time for assault and mortgage fraud.
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