Photo credit: Reuters
Tens of thousands of protesters joined two rival marches in <London on Saturday – the Unite the Kingdom rally organized by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, and a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
The BBC reports that over 4,000 police officers were deployed to the capital to manage a so-called “sterile zone” between the two marches. Officers also used drones, police horses and dogs, and had armoured vehicles on standby.
The Metropolitan Police called it one of the most significant policing operations in years, with tens of thousands of football fans also at Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup Final on Saturday afternoon.
The force said there were 43 arrests at the two protests, and an additional 22 at the FA Cup Final, as of 19:30 BST.
Protesters attending the Unite the Kingdom march gathered in Kingsway, before heading to Whitehall and a rally in Parliament Square.
Many could be seen waving Union flags, with some wearing “Make England Great Again (MEGA)” red hats. Chants of “we want Starmer out” could also be heard.
Those gathered told the BBC they had a wide range of views – including some who wanted to see the end of the current government, and others who felt white people, in particular white working-class people, were being discriminated against in the UK.
Police had put up barriers to block routes between the two protests.
Alongside Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon,m speakers at the rally included former LBC presenter Kate Hopkins, actor-turned-politician Laurence Fox, and TV personality Ant Middleton.
Robinson called for crowds to get involved in politics, including by registering to vote and joining a political party.
He also led protesters in a chant of support for technology billionaire Elon Musk, the world’s richest person.
Siobhan Whyte, whose daughter Rhiannon was murdered by a Sudanese asylum seeker, told the protest that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had “killed my daughter”.
The separate pro-Palestinian march, marking Nakba Day, started in Kensington before heading to Waterloo Place via Piccadilly.
Nakba Day refers to the displacement of Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948-49.
Demonstrators expressed a wide range of views to the BBC, with many describing themselves as both anti-genocide and anti-fascist.
Several protesters said they were conscious that some Jewish people reported feeling intimidated by such marches, but said they abhorred antisemitism and there was no place for it at the march.
Speakers at the rally included Your Party co-founders Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, independent MP Diuane Abbott5 and Labour MP Apsana Begum.
The Met said four officers were assaulted, “fortunately none seriously”, during its public order operation on Saturday. It also said another six officers were “subjected to hate crime offences”.
