Tens of thousands join UK far-right’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally, as counter-protesters also demonstrate
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Tens of thousands join UK far-right’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally, as counter-protesters also demonstrate")
Crowd in London ahead of the far-right ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally on Saturday. Photograph: (AFP)
By midday, tens of thousands of protesters were packed into the streets south of the River Thames before heading towards Westminster, the seat of the UK parliament. Demonstrators carried the Union flag of Britain and the red and white St George's Cross of England, while others
London turned into a sea of people on Saturday as more than 100,000 supporters converged in the central part of the capital, carrying flags of England and Britain, and joined the march organised by far-right, anti-immigrant, and anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, even as a counter-protest by anti-racism campaigners was also taking place in the UK capital. Protesters participating in the “Unite the Kingdom” march gathered in Whitehall for a series of speeches from people including Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon.
Soon after midday, the streets of central London around Waterloo turned into a sea of Union Jacks, St. George’s crosses, Scottish saltires, and Welsh flags as large crowds of protesters amassed near Waterloo Bridge ahead of the march.
‘Stop the Boats’, ‘Send them Home’ slogans on display
A mix of slogans, including ‘Stop the Boats’, ‘Send them Home’ and ‘Unite the Kingdom’ were on display, besides the presence of anti-transgender activists in the crowd.
One man carried a large wooden cross with ‘RIP Charlie Kirk’ written on it—the right-wing US activist shot dead on Wednesday while speaking at a US university.
Demonstrators carried the Union flag of Britain and the red and white St George’s Cross of England, while others brought American and Israeli flags and wore the MAGA hats of US President Donald Trump. They chanted slogans critical of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and carried placards including some saying “send them home”.
‘We want our country back; they need to stop illegal migration’
“Hundreds of thousands already pack the streets of central London as we Unite as one for our freedoms,” said Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, on X.
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Robinson claims he is exposing state wrongdoing and counts US billionaire Elon Musk among his supporters. Britain’s biggest anti-immigrant political party, Reform UK has kept its distance from Robinson, who has criminal convictions.
“We want our country back, we want our free speech back on track,” said Sandra Mitchell, a supporter attending the rally.
“They need to stop illegal migration into this country. We believe in Tommy,” she said.
Immigration has become a leading political issue in Britain, eclipsing concerns over a faltering economy, as the country faces a record number of asylum claims. More than 28,000 migrants have arrived in small boats across the Channel so far this year.
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Stand Up To Racism holds counter-protest ‘March Against Fascism’
Meanwhile thousands more gathered in another part of London, near Russell Square, for the counter-protest, dubbed ‘March Against Fascism’, organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR).
The Metropolitan Police said officers had been “attacked with projectiles” and had to use force to avoid a cordon being breached. Around 1,000 Metropolitan Police officers have been deployed in London, with barriers in place to create a “sterile area” between the two protest 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.
The demonstrators held placards reading ‘Women Against the Far Right’, ‘Oppose Tommy Robinson’, and ‘Refugees Welcome’. The protesters will also march toward Parliament Square—only a few hundred metres from the Unite the Kingdom rally.
