EXCLUSIVE |
Mad Dog in the mix at London’s ‘United the Kingdom’ protests
Johnny Adair joins 110,000-strong London anti-migrant demo
Former loyalist terror chief Johnny ‘Mad Dog’ Adair was among thousands of protesters on the streets of London yesterday at a “freedom of speech” festival led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, the Sunday World can reveal.
The ex-UDA brigadier travelled from his home in Ayrshire, Scotland, for the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march through the English capital.
The Metropolitan Police said it estimated around 110,000 were in Whitehall for the Robinson event and 5,000 for the counter-protest.
Adair at the demo
Adair in London yesterday
Adair filmed himself wearing dark sunglasses and with a Union flag draped around his shoulders.
He later posted the footage on social media for the benefit of his loyalist followers.
Adair told viewers: “Here we are, just waiting for the parade to start. Everyone’s ready to go. All the flags are flying and the sun’s shining. There’s a great atmosphere.”
A one-time director of loyalist terror, Adair has been friends with Tommy Robinson for many years. The pair share a similar political outlook.
Police officers were assaulted as they faced “significant aggression” from protesters, Scotland Yard said.
The force, which was attempting to keep the two groups apart, said: “Officers are having to intervene in multiple locations to stop Unite the Kingdom protesters trying to access sterile areas, breach police cordons or get to opposing groups.
“A number of officers have been assaulted.”
It added: “We continue to see significant aggression directed at officers by Unite the Kingdom protesters.
“We have deployed additional officers with protective equipment in multiple locations, supported by police horses, to deal with the disorder.”
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The two protests
Projectiles were thrown by Robinson protesters towards the counter-demonstrators as thousands from both sides stared each other down on Whitehall.
A line of police horses faced the sea of Union flags and at one point a glass bottle appeared to smash against a horse, causing the horse and rider to stagger backwards.
Police took out their batons at around 4.25pm as they continued to try and push back thousands of Robinson supporters gathered on the top of Whitehall and Trafalgar Square.
Beer cans were thrown and an officer was seen trying to stamp out a flare in the metres-wide gap between the two protest groups.