London police braced for their busiest day in years on Saturday, when tens of thousands of protesters were expected to attend two major demonstrations — the latest rally staged by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, and an anti-Israel Nakba Day demonstration.
The British capital’s Metropolitan Police said it would deploy 4,000 officers — alongside horses, dogs, drones and helicopters — to manage the two protests, as well as soccer’s FA Cup final.
The Met has imposed various conditions on the two rallies, over their routes and timings, in a bid to keep rival attendees apart.
The force, which estimates the operation will cost £4.5 million ($6 million), warned in a statement that it would adopt “a zero-tolerance approach.”
That includes for the first time making organizers legally responsible for ensuring invited speakers do not break hate speech laws. Additionally, the Met said live facial recognition would be used for the first time to police a protest.
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On the eve of the demonstrations, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned: “Anyone who sets out to wreak havoc on our streets, to intimidate or threaten anyone… can expect to face the full force of the law.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, walks through the House of Commons to attend the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster, London, May 13, 2026. (Toby Melville/Pool Photo via AP)
Starmer — facing intense pressure within his ruling Labour party to quit after hard-right Reform UK and nationalist parties scored wins in local elections last week — accused the organizers of Saturday’s far-right rally of “peddling hatred and division.”
“Their goal is to convince people that Britain’s problems are caused by those living alongside them,” he said in a video posted online after visiting the Met’s operational control room. “But that is not the Britain that I know.”
Some 80,000 expected
Robinson — real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — is a former football hooligan turned anti-Islam activist whose profile has soared in recent years, in particular online.
Last September, he drew up to 150,000 people into central London for a similarly themed rally proclaiming “national unity, free speech and Christian values.”
X owner Elon Musk addressed that event, which shocked mainstream Britain for its scale and raw messaging, as well as clashes between some participants and police which injured dozens of officers.
Robinson’s growing appeal comes amid public anger over tens of thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel each year in small boats, wider immigration policies, alleged free speech curbs and other issues.
British far-right activist Tommy Robinson speaks during a rally in Parliament Square in London, March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/ Frank Augstein)
Robinson has urged his attendees not to wear masks or drink excessive alcohol, and to be “peaceful and courteous.”
“The establishment has thrown everything in the way of us as we fight to Unite The Kingdom and the West,” he said this week on X, predicting “the biggest patriotic rally to grace this planet.”
The two leading British communal groups — the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council — last year condemned Robinson’s attempts to align himself and his movement with the Jewish community, as well as efforts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government, calling him a “thug.”
The Met estimates around 50,000 of Robinson’s supporters will attend on Saturday, with 30,000 people expected at the rival pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel rally marking Nakba Day.
A pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel rally in London, October 14, 2023, days after the October 7 Hamas-led onslaught. (Kin Cheung/AP)
The Stand Up to Racism group has combined its anti-fascism march with the Nakba Day event — Jewish groups have said in the past that they are being excluded from activities to counter the far-right.
Britain’s Jewish community has long expressed concerns about the anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian rallies that paralyzed parts of central London on a regular basis since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
The protests frequently see antisemitic chants and posters.
Saturday’s anti-Israel protest comes amid a spate of violent attacks targeting London’s Jewish community, with some blaming instances of hate speech at the marches for helping to fuel antisemitism.
The UK’s terrorism threat level was raised two weeks ago to the second-highest level of “severe” amid the attacks on the Jewish community, with security officials citing the “broader Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat.”
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