The Metropolitan Police has called in hundreds of reinforcement officers from across the UK and is seeking to reassure Muslim Londoners ahead of Tommy Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” protest.
Thousands of people are expected at the far-right activist’s “free speech” rally on Saturday, while Stand Up To Racism UK has organised a counter-demonstration expected to attract a similar number.
The Met will also deal with policing several football matches, including derbies between West Ham and Tottenham and Brentford and Chelsea, while Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Fulham all play fixtures at home.
More than 1,600 officers will be deployed as part of the overall public order policing operation in the city, including 500 drafted in from other forces.
Around 1,000 officers will be responsible for the two protests taking place in central London, the force said.
Stand Up To Racism has organised a counter protest (Lucy North/PA Wire)
Commander Clair Haynes, who is overseeing the public order policing operation in London this weekend, sought to reassure Muslim Londoners ahead of the demonstration.
She said: “We would ask all those taking part in the protests to be considerate of the communities they are passing through to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Officers will take a firm line on behaviour that is discriminatory or that crosses the line from protest into hate crime.
“We recognise that there are particular concerns for many in London’s Muslim communities ahead of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest given the record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and incidents of offensive chanting by a minority at previous marches.
“There have been some suggestions that Muslim Londoners should change their behaviour this Saturday, including not coming into town. That is not our advice.
“Everyone should be able to feel safe travelling into and around London. Our officers are there to ensure that is the case and we’d urge anyone who is out on Saturday and feels concerned to speak to us.”
The “Unite the Kingdom” rally organised by Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley Lennon, will begin at 11am in Stamford Street, near the IMAX roundabout in Waterloo.
They are expected to march along York Road and over Westminster Bridge and into Whitehall.
The counter-protest begins in Russell Square from midday and walk via Kingsway, Aldwych and the Strand to the northern end of Whitehall where a rally will take place.
Barriers will be in place to keep the two groups separate and officers deployed in surrounding roads to “minimise the risk of disorder” if the groups come together, the Met said.
There will be strict conditions imposed under the Public Order Act on where and when activists can protest, the force added.
It comes amid growing concerns about the costs of policing protests as the Met faces significant funding pressures.
Tommy Robinson supporters marched from Waterloo to Parliament Square in a previous protest (PA Wire)
Three demonstrations organised by Robinson between Saturday, July 27, 2024 and Saturday, February 1, 2025, cost the force an estimated total of over £3.35 million to police.
The cost of policing mass pro-Palestinian protests in central London had exceeded £53 million, the Met said in February.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned at the time that resources deployed to large demonstrations could have been used to investigate “crime, robberies, burglaries and chasing down wanted offenders”.
Commander Haynes said: “I am grateful to the many hundreds of Met officers who are being deployed away from their day to day roles and to the 500 or so officers from around the country who have responded to our request for support.
“The main focus of the operation is on the two protests in central London. We will approach them as we do any other protests, policing without fear or favour, ensuring people can exercise their lawful rights but being robust in dealing with incidents or offences should they occur.
“In the run up to the protests we have been in close contact with the organisers, with local business and community representatives and with representatives of communities across London more broadly.”