The counter-protesters said they had rallied to send a message of inclusivity and opposition to the message of British Unity which describes itself as “a movement dedicated to the preservation and advancement of the United Kingdom’s values, culture, and heritage”.
Among the British Unity Walk’s demonstrators was Steph, who spoke about asylum seekers arriving in the country on small boats.
She said: “All you have to do is either stop these boats coming into the country, or these people need to be vetted, kept somewhere safe until the decision is made so that we know more about them, who they are and whether they’re safe to walk in our streets.”
Gillian Costello, of Exeter for Everyone, said asylum seekers were “being vilified”.
“They’re being made as these objects of terror that our women and children should be protected from,” she said.
“But we know that most of the women in the hotels, asylum seekers going through the legal route, they’re women and children. They’re not the people who we need to be afraid of.”