Thousands join Tommy Robinson rally, as counter-protesters demonstrate
Thousands join Tommy Robinson rally, as counter-protesters demonstrate
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Daniel SandfordUK correspondent, central London,
Nick Johnson and
Maia Davies
0:51Aerial video shows scale of ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest
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 have gathered in Whitehall where they are hearing a series of speeches from people including Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon.
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 coul
