The massive London march on Saturday became unruly as the “Unite the Kingdom” ($UTK) rally clashed with police as they separated from counterprotests of “Stand Up To Racism” (SUTR). The Metropolitan Police reported that protestors assaulted police aggressively in multiple locations, especially while police were trying to create a safe exit route for the SUTR protestors at the north of Whitehall.
The Met police’s initial attempt to create a “sterile area” between two protest groups failed later in the afternoon when $UTK protestors left the route onto Victoria Embankment and sought to access Whitehall from multiple directions. Latest police reports indicated that nine arrests have been made, and many more individuals have been identified for committing offences.
The $UTK rally, led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, attracted about 100,000 people, while 20,000 others participated in the nearby SUTR counter-protest group. The turnout of the $UTK protest was too large for Whitehall to accommodate, despite the advance deployment of over 1,000 Metropolitan officers. Images show one side of the crowd holding banners that say, “Refugees welcome,” “Stop the Far Right,” and “Stand up against racism,” while the other side displays Union and St. George’s flags, which feature a red cross on a white background.
Among several speakers at SUTR’s rally, Diane Abbott, the first black woman Member of Parliament, said, “Racism, Fascism and their violence are not new. Racism and violence were part of the empire and colonialism. Racism and violence made the immigrants strong across the empire who came here in the 40s and 50s. We have always defeated racism and violence. And, we must defeat it again by standing up to them.”
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, argued that the UK courts prioritized the rights of “undocumented migrants” over those of the “local community,” referencing the recent Court of Appeal’s decision to revoke the High Court’s temporary injunction against using the Bell Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers in Epping Council, Essex. Furthermore, tech billionaire Elon Musk attended the $UTK rally online and stated that the rapid erosion of Britain is due to massive uncontrolled immigration and asserted, “You either fight back or you die.” Elon Musk also alluded to the death of US Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and made extreme assertions that “The Left is a party that commits and celebrates murder.”
This is the largest march in British history. UK immigration law and policy have been the subject of significant discussion in the UK. Recently, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood shared that she reached an agreement with her counterparts from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, collectively known as the Five Eyes alliance, to cut the number of visas granted to countries that delay or refuse to accept the return of individuals who have no right to remain in the UK.