Cofounder of anti-Islam EDL says rally is for free speech, as protesters attack police and antiracism campaigners.<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London for a march organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, as support for the anti-immigrant Reform UK party soars across the country.<\/p>\n
London\u2019s Metropolitan Police estimated that Robinson\u2019s \u201cUnite the Kingdom\u201d rally drew about 110,000 people on Saturday, crowds marching from two directions \u2013 Waterloo Bridge and Lambeth Bridge \u2013 and converging on Whitehall, next to the United Kingdom Parliament.<\/p>\n
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At least 25 people were arrested and 26 police officers were injured \u2013 including four who were seriously hurt, according to the Metropolitan Police.<\/p>\n
Al Jazeera witnessed people waving an assortment of flags \u2013 Union Jacks, the red and white St George\u2019s Cross of England and the Israeli Star of David \u2013 chanting \u201c[Keir] Starmer is a w*****\u201d as they flocked to see famous far-right speakers next to the UK Prime Minister\u2019s Downing Street residence, including Robinson<\/a>, Katie Hopkins, and Steve Bannon.<\/p>\n Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and is known for his anti-immigrant and anti-Islam views, billed the march as a demonstration for free speech, British heritage and culture, pumping up the crowd with claims that migrants now had more rights in court than the \u201cBritish public, the people that built this nation\u201d.<\/p>\n The Met deployed more than 1,600 officers to keep apart Robinson\u2019s rally and a counter \u201cStand Up to Racism\u201d protest attended by about 5,000 people, reporting on X that a number of officers were assaulted as they tried to stop the former breaching cordons delineating a buffer area between the two.<\/p>\n The number of arrests contrasted sharply with the 890 people detained at the previous week\u2019s\u00a0Palestine Action<\/a>\u00a0protest, where protesters holding up placards calling for the UK\u2019s ban on the group to be lifted and for a stop to genocide in Gaza had demonstrated peacefully.<\/p>\n Stand Up to Racism counterprotest held<\/p>\n At the counterprotest, attended by left-wing lawmakers Zarah Sultana<\/a> and Diane Abbott<\/a>, the crowd held signs saying \u201crefugees welcome\u201d and \u201dsmash the far right,\u201d and shouted \u201cstand up, fight back\u201d.<\/p>\n The \u201cStand Up to Racism\u201d campaign group posted on X that its protesters had also been attacked by Robinson\u2019s followers. \u201cAre these the \u2018concerned ordinary people\u2019 we\u2019ve heard so much about? Or are they far right thugs,\u201d said one post.<\/p>\n Robinson\u2019s rally comes at the tail end of a highly charged summer in the UK that featured several protests staged outside hotels housing asylum seekers in England, following the arrest of an Ethiopian man who was later convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a London suburb.<\/p>\n BREAKING: far right thugs attack anti-fascists in Whitehall. Are these the \u201cconcerned ordinary people\u201d we\u2019ve heard so much about? Or are they far right thugs. #StandUptoRacism<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0rkMf5BxmM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stand Up To Racism (@AntiRacismDay) September 13, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n It also comes as the far-right, anti-immigrant Reform UK party establishes itself as a significant political force, with recent polls<\/a> saying it would be the UK\u2019s largest political party if a general election were held now.<\/p>\n People at the march displayed placards with slogans like \u201csend them home\u201d and \u201cstop the boats\u201d, the latter a reference to asylum seekers making the perilous journey over the English Channel in inflatable boats.<\/p>\n One woman who had travelled from Scotland for the march told Al Jazeera that she was sick of seeing homeless British people in the street while immigrants were receiving shelter and that empty buildings should be opened for both groups.<\/p>\n \u201cBad things are going to happen if things don\u2019t change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Robinson founded the nationalist and anti-Islam English Defence League (EDL) and is one of the most influential far-right figures in the UK.<\/p>\n While the crowd attending the \u201cUnite the Kingdom\u201d was large, it fell far short of one of the biggest pro-Palestinian marches, which drew an estimated 300,000 people in November 2023.<\/p>\n