Armoured vehicles, horses, dogs, drones and helicopters will be deployed along with 4,000 officers to police the far-right Unite the Kingdom (UTK) rally organised by Stephen Yaxley Lennon, otherwise known as Tommy Robinson<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Guardian understands officers will be granted extra powers to carry out a stop and search without requiring suspicion of an offence, which will also apply to the pro-Palestine Nakba Day rally taking place in a separate location to the UTK march.<\/p>\n At the same time, tens of thousands of football fans are expected at Wembley stadium for the FA Cup final.<\/p>\n For the first time at a demonstration, police will use live recognition cameras and organisers will be held personally responsible for the behaviour of the speakers they invite.<\/p>\n Deputy assistant commissioner James Harman said the \u201cunprecedented\u201d operation could cost the force \u00a34.5m, adding that today \u201chas the potential to be one of the busiest days for policing in London<\/a> in recent years\u201d.<\/p>\n Police estimate that about 50,000 people will attend the UTK rally, while the pro-Palestine march is expected to draw between 15,000 and 40,000 peope. The UTK rally last September overwhelmed expectations after more than 150,000 people flooded Parliament Square in Westminster.<\/p>\n Prime minister Keir Starmer said the rise of the far right represents \u201ca fight for the soul of this country\u201d<\/a>, adding: \u201cThe Unite the Kingdom march this weekend is a stark reminder of exactly what we are up against. Its organisers are peddling hatred and division, plain and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s police and crime correspondent, Vikram Dodd, has the full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.01 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Strict conditions on the timings and the routes of both demonstrations are in place.<\/p>\n Tommy Robinson\u2019s Unite the Kingdom march will begin in Kingsway and move along the Strand before ending in Parliament Square. Crowds are expected to gather for the rally from 11am.<\/p>\n Meanwhile the annual pro-Palestine Nakba Day march begins at noon in Exhibition Road in Kensington before heading to Waterloo Place and finishing in Piccadilly.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>British Palestinians feel \u2018gaslit\u2019 and unable to speak out, says leading activist British Palestinians feel unable to speak openly about Israel\u2019s war on Gaza, the director of the British Palestinian Committee has said, amid what campaigners believe is a growing climate of hostility around Palestinian identity and activism in the UK.<\/p>\n Sara Husseini, director of the British Palestinian Committee. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Some were afraid to wear Palestinian symbols at work or display Arabic jewellery and keffiyehs in public, Sara Husseini said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have many documented reports of Palestinians and allies being silenced or punished for wearing Palestinian symbols, watermelon pins, or speaking about the genocide,\u201d she said. \u201cMany colleagues across all kinds of sectors feel they are being gaslit while friends and families are being massacred back home.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking before Saturday\u2019s national march<\/a> in London commemorating the 78th anniversary of the Nakba (\u201ccatastrophe\u201d) \u2013 the displacement of at least 700,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948 \u2013 Husseini said many Palestinians felt they were being treated not as victims of mass suffering, but as suspects whose grief had become politicised.<\/p>\n \u201cCruelty is the word I would use, particularly for colleagues who are from Gaza or have family there, knowing these atrocities are being inflicted on their loved ones day in, day out,\u201d Husseini said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then being effectively told: not only are we not going to acknowledge that this is happening to you, we\u2019re going to disbelieve you, interrogate you, stop you from speaking about it, and if you do speak, we\u2019re going to paint you as the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Keir Starmer has described the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson and others organising a major rally in London today as \u201cindividuals with long records of violence and extremism\u201d.<\/p>\n As tens of thousands started their journeys into the city today ahead of the self-styled Unite the Kingdom (UTK) march, the prime minister used an article published on the website of LBC radio<\/a> to again condemn Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir goal is to inflame and divide. And they are seeking the support of far-right agitators around the world to make that happen,\u201d wrote Starmer, whose government has blocked 11 people, <\/a>including a Polish far-right MEP, from coming to Britain ahead of the event.<\/p>\n \u201cI refuse to stand by and allow that poison to be imported into the UK,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, delivers a speech during a Patriots Network conference in Paris, France, on 2 May. Photograph: Mohammed Badra\/EPA<\/p>\n It emerged on Friday that another of those banned from coming to UK is Ezra Levant, a long time Canadian supporter of Robinson, who has been involved in the activist\u2019s reinvention of himself as an online influencer and self-styled journalist.<\/p>\n Starmer used the same article to also issue a warning to those taking part in the pro-Palestine Nakba Day rally, which is also taking place today along a different route in London.<\/p>\n 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 The new guidance, issued before what police have described as an \u201cunprecedented\u201d security operation, urges prosecutors to assess whether slogans, symbols or chants may influence audiences online if they are filmed and shared.<\/p>\n Starmer wrote: \u201cThe cause of a Palestinian state is just and, alongside a safe and secure Israel, one that is recognised by this government.<\/p>\n \u201cBut on marches that support that cause, it is not hard to find individuals who abuse it to spread antisemitism and intimidate Jewish communities. And this is taking place against the backdrop of a deeply worrying rise in antisemitic incidents \u2013 including terrorist attacks. The end result is that British Jews feel unsafe in their own streets.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>4,000 officers on duty in London for large scale far-right and pro-Palestine protests<\/p>\n The Metropolitan police<\/a> is preparing for what it described as potentially \u201cone of the busiest days for policing in recent years\u201d as tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on central London for two major demonstrations.<\/p>\n Armoured vehicles, horses, dogs, drones and helicopters will be deployed along with 4,000 officers to police the far-right Unite the Kingdom (UTK) rally organised by Stephen Yaxley Lennon, otherwise known as Tommy Robinson<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Guardian understands officers will be granted extra powers to carry out a stop and search without requiring suspicion of an offence, which will also apply to the pro-Palestine Nakba Day rally taking place in a separate location to the UTK march.<\/p>\n Clashes erupted between police and protesters as thousands of people marched through central London for the \u2018Unite the Kingdom\u2019 rally last September. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n At the same time, tens of thousands of football fans are expected at Wembley stadium for the FA Cup final.<\/p>\n For the first time at a demonstration, police will use live recognition cameras and organisers will be held personally responsible for the behaviour of the speakers they invite.<\/p>\n Deputy assistant commissioner James Harman said the \u201cunprecedented\u201d operation could cost the force \u00a34.5m, adding that today \u201chas the potential to be one of the busiest days for policing in London<\/a> in recent years\u201d.<\/p>\n Police estimate that about 50,000 people will attend the UTK rally, while the pro-Palestine march is expected to draw between 15,000 and 40,000 peope. The UTK rally last September overwhelmed expectations after more than 150,000 people flooded Parliament Square in Westminster.<\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/8256.jpg\")
Clashes erupted between police and protesters as thousands of people marched through central London for the \u2018Unite the Kingdom\u2019 rally last September. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Aamna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778926151_347_Aamna_Mohdin,_L.png\")
Aamna Mohdin<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Ben_Quinn.png\")
Ben Quinn<\/p>\n