{"id":957811,"date":"2026-05-13T20:46:33","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:46:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957811\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:46:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:46:33","slug":"4000-police-to-be-deployed-in-london-amid-fears-of-football-hooligan-violence-at-tommy-robinson-led-march-on-fa-cup-final-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/957811\/","title":{"rendered":"4,000 police to be deployed in London amid fears of football hooligan violence at Tommy Robinson-led march on FA Cup Final day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around 4,000 police officers are to be deployed on London\u2019s streets <\/a>amid fears football hooligans will join a Tommy Robinson-led march on FA Cup Final<\/a> day this weekend.<\/p>\n

In one of its biggest-ever public order operations, Metropolitan Police<\/a> helicopters and drones will watch over the Unite the Kingdom march and a pro-Palestine demonstration to mark Nakba Day on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Specialist armed police<\/a> units will be on standby, while mounted police, dog teams, traffic units and large numbers of officers with riot equipment will be deployed.<\/p>\n

Detectives will also take part in the huge public safety plan on Saturday which includes a ban on some individuals entering Britain to join the Unite the Kingdom protest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Live facial recognition will also be used for the first time by Scotland Yard during a public order operation, though not on march routes.<\/p>\n

\"Protesters<\/p>\n

Protesters clash with police officers during the \u2018Unite The Kingdom\u2019 rally in Westminster last September (Getty Images)<\/p>\n

It will be deployed at a location in Camden borough to target criminals and suspected offenders on a \u201cwatch list\u201d if they take part in the Unite the Kingdom march which is expected to be led by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.<\/p>\n

Speakers who engage in antisemitic, anti-Muslim or other hate speech will face arrest, and the organisers of the demonstrations may also be prosecuted for such offences under powers being used by the Met for the first time.<\/p>\n

People who chant \u201cdeath to the IDF\u201d or \u201cGlobalise the Intifada\u201d will also face arrest, as will individuals who engage in anti-Muslim hatred.<\/p>\n

Police will have powers to force people to remove face coverings and will also be able to issue dispersal orders to make people intent on causing trouble leave central London or face arrest.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The designated route for the Unite the Kingdom march on Saturday (Met Police)<\/p>\n

Strict restrictions will be imposed on the routes of the two marches and timings.<\/p>\n

The marches are taking place after the Golders Green stabbings and arson attacks on the Jewish community<\/a> in north London and as Donald Trump\u2019s Iran war continues.<\/p>\n

In a briefing outlining Scotland Yard\u2019s plans, Deputy Assistant Commissoner (DAC) James Harman said: \u201cTaken together, these factors give us significant cause for concern as we head into the weekend and require a policing plan that provides us with the most assertive grip on the movement of large numbers of people, large groups, and the potential for serious disorder and other criminality that may arise as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around 50,000 people are expected by the Met to join the Unite the Kingdom protest, and some 30,000 the march to mark Nakba Day, which commemorates events which caused Palestinians to lose their homes and become refugees during the establishment of Israel.<\/p>\n

The turnout figures could end up being higher than currently estimated.<\/p>\n

The Nakba Day protest will form up in Exhibition Road in Kensington, before going on to head into Waterloo Place via Brompton Road to Piccadilly before a rally.<\/p>\n

The Unite the Kingdom demonstration will form up in Kingsway before heading to Whitehall via Aldwych and The Strand, with a rally due to take place in Parliament Square.<\/p>\n

Tens of thousands of football fans will also be heading to Wembley for the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The designated route for the Nakba 78\/United Against Tommy Robinson and the Far Right march on Saturday (Met Police)<\/p>\n

DAC Harman added: \u201cThere comes with it a risk of disorder that needs to be managed, and we need to be mindful this Saturday of the history of football hooligan groups supporting causes fronted by Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no professional men’s games in England on that day other than the FA Cup Final<\/a>, which increases the likelihood of those groups travelling to London.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some 660 officers are being drafted in from other forces for the huge public order operation which is expected to cost \u00a34.5 million, including \u00a31.7 million for the bill to pay for police from outside the capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of its scale, the number of officers being deployed, some of the tactics we have in reserve, and some of the tactics we will be using, it’s unprecedented in recent years,\u201d said DAC Harman.<\/p>\n

The Met could seek to ban the marches but static protests could still be held.<\/p>\n

The police chiefs believe their plan will stop any large scale disorder on London\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n

More than 20 people were arrested at a Unite the Kingdom march last year<\/a>, and police are still pursuing around 50 people who committed alleged offences but have so far not been caught.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n

Where to grab a pint in Wembley after the FA Cup final<\/a><\/p>\n

Xabi Alonso preference ‘clear’ after Chelsea open new manager talks<\/a><\/p>\n

Chelsea youngster wins top honour in end of season awards after stunning season<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Around 4,000 police officers are to be deployed on London\u2019s streets amid fears football hooligans will join a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,267469,393,97,181822,124206,4884,267466,257,135,267468,28379,267467,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-957811","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-deployed","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-fa-cup","12":"tag-face-arrest","13":"tag-football-hooligans","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-james-harman","16":"tag-london","17":"tag-metropolitan-police","18":"tag-nakba-day","19":"tag-police-officers","20":"tag-public-order","21":"tag-uk","22":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116569230166353406","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=957811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=957811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=957811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}