{"id":965908,"date":"2026-05-17T04:33:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T04:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/965908\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T04:33:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T04:33:25","slug":"dozens-arrested-at-rival-london-protests-with-4000-officers-on-duty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/965908\/","title":{"rendered":"Dozens arrested at rival London protests with 4,000 officers on duty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"cp_picture__img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PA-84637635.jpg\"\/>Play Brightcove video<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\"><strong class=\"_1ATDh\">Saturday could end up being one of the most challenging days for the Met Police in its history, ITV News Correspondent John Ray reports<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">More than 40 people have been arrested after huge crowds of people descended on London for two major demonstrations on Saturday. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Both Tommy Robinson\u2019s Unite the Kingdom march and the pro-Palestine Nakba Day rally took place in the capital, with attendees overseen by a huge \u00a34.5 million police operation in place. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Armoured vehicles, police horses, dogs, drones and helicopters were deployed in London, along with around 4,000 officers on duty and live facial recognition systems in use. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">A total of 43 arrests had been made between both protests as of 7.30pm, a spokesperson for the Met said, as well as an additional 22 at the FA Cup final. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Four officers were assaulted, although none seriously, and a further six officers were subjected to hate crime offences, the Force said. <\/p>\n<p>Tens of thousands of people marched in London for Unite the Kingdom Credit: PA<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Police have not said how many people were in attendance, having previously estimated 50,000 would be at Tommy Robinson\u2019s Unite the Kingdom march and 30,000 would go to the pro-Palestine Nakba Day rally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Organisers of the Nakba Day rally estimated at least a quarter of a million people showed up, making it \u201c10 times bigger\u201d than the Unite the Kingdom demonstration, they said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Meanwhile, Robinson said &#8220;millions of patriots&#8221; had been at his protest, calling it &#8220;the largest patriotic display the world has ever seen&#8221; on X. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Crowds could be seen waving St George&#8217;s Crosses and Union flags at the Unite the Kingdom march, while protesters carried Palestine flags and signs reading \u201csmash the far right\u201d for the pro-Palestine rally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Speeches at the Unite the Kingdom protest concluded with You\u2019ll Never Walk Alone being performed to the crowd, before Tommy Robinson thanked the Met Police and asked the crowds to \u201cshow them some respect\u201d on their way home.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Robinson also led chants of support for Elon Musk and praised Conservative US activist Charlie Kirk, who was killed in September last year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Many of those who addressed the crowds in Westminster called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign and \u201cunite the West\u201d banners were placed along the march route by organisers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Actor Laurence Fox and TV personality Ant Middleton were also among those to speak. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Thousands also turned out to oppose the rally, shouting \u201cwe will smash the far right\u201d and carrying placards featuring photos of Robinson with the slogan: \u201cStop Islamophobia. Stop the far right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Meanwhile at the Nakba Day rally, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told supporters that Westminster needs a change in \u201cpolicy\u201d not \u201cpersonalities\u201d, amid an <a class=\"qNUzV q7LZa\" data-testid=\"next-link-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/2026-05-16\/wes-streeting-keir-starmer-labour-leadership-race\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">emerging leadership race<\/a> for Starmer&#8217;s job. <\/p>\n<p>Attendees at the Nakba Day rally held signs that said &#8216;free Palestine&#8217; Credit: PA<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">\u201cWhatever happens to Keir Starmer, I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s going to survive the coup,&#8221; the Your Party co-founder said to the crowd. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">He added: \u201cTo those in Reform and the far right that do so much to attack us all and attack our communities, your hatred can succeed in dividing people, but your hatred will not build one council house, will not improve one hospital, will not teach one child, will not end somebody\u2019s homeless life on the streets of London.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">\u201cThe only thing that can change that is a change of economic, social, and international policy &#8211; that\u2019s what brings us together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Many attending carried placards bearing slogans such as \u201cNurses Not Nukes\u201d, \u201cFree Palestine\u201d, and \u201cStop Arming Israel\u201d, and chanted: \u201cFrom the river to the sea, Palestine will be free\u201d. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">MPs Diane Abbott and Zarah Sultana also spoke. <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Earlier on Saturday, Justice Secretary David Lammy said authorities would act \u201cswiftly\u201d if protests turned violent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">\u201cThe Unite the Kingdom march organisers are spreading hatred and division,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p>Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn spoke to the crowds Credit: PA<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">\u201cThey do not reflect the Britain I\u2019m proud of. Peaceful protest is a fundamental right and one I will always protect. But if protest turns violent, we will act swiftly, with extra court capacity in place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Two men who arrived in London to attend the Unite the Kingdom protest were arrested in the vicinity of Euston station over an unrelated incident in Birmingham, police said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">The Met Police posted on X saying: \u201cTwo men, wanted on suspicion of GBH following an incident in Birmingham where a man was run over, were spotted arriving into London to attend the UTK protest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Prosecutors have been told to consider whether protest placards, banners and chants viewed on social media may amount to offences of stirring up hatred during the rallies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">The new guidance urges prosecutors to assess whether slogans, symbols or chants may influence audiences online if they are filmed and shared.<\/p>\n<p>There was a massive police operation in place covering both the protests. Credit: PA<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the revised advice is designed to reflect \u201cthe changing international context\u201d and follows separate guidance concerning the fast-tracking of hate crime prosecutions issued earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">The guidance tells prosecutors to take account of the wider context surrounding protests, including heightened tensions linked to national or international events.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Recent criminal cases have seen suspects charged after shouting \u201cdeath to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)\u201d and \u201cglobalise the intifada\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said \u201cthis is not about restricting free speech\u201d and \u201cit is about preventing hate crime and protecting the public, particularly at a time of heightened tensions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Tommy Robinson led chants praising Elon Musk at the rally Credit: PA<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">The government also blocked 11 foreign nationals described by Starmer as \u201cfar-right agitators\u201d from entering the UK ahead of the Unite the Kingdom rally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Live facial recognition was used for the first time in a protest policing operation, with cameras set up in an area of Camden that is not on the route of the Unite the Kingdom march, but was expected to be used by a lot of people attending the event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">However, the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner Professor William Webster said police forces could find themselves taken to court over their use of the technology, saying it is not \u201cfoolproof\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\"><strong class=\"_1ATDh\">Subscribe free to<\/strong><a class=\"qNUzV q7LZa\" href=\"https:\/\/itvnews.substack.com\/\" data-testid=\"fecp-link-anchor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong class=\"_1ATDh\"> our weekly newsletter <\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"_1ATDh\">for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman said the policing operation would cost forces \u00a34.5 million, with \u00a31.7 million being used on bringing in officers from other forces to boost numbers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\">The Metropolitan Police Federation said many officers had leave cancelled and rest days withdrawn to meet policing requirements for the protests, adding: \u201cThere are not enough of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"A8Lwr BVYCX\"><strong class=\"_1ATDh\">From Westminster to Washington DC &#8211; our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below&#8230;<\/strong> <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Play Brightcove video Saturday could end up being one of the most challenging days for the Met Police&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":965909,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,257,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-965908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-london","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116588054055972110","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965908","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=965908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/965909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=965908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=965908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=965908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}