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A woman has been arrested after she appeared to refuse to remove a fabric face mask she was wearing at a pro-Palestine protest forming up in South Kensington, the Press Association reports.<\/p>\n
She was part of a group of protesters who were all asked to remove fabric and surgical face coverings.<\/p>\n
A separate group, who were wearing orange jumpsuits with masks over their faces bearing a photo of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, were also asked to remove their masks.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a> Speakers at today\u2019s far-right rally, according to its advertising, include the mother of a woman killed by an asylum seeker, and the American conspiracy theorist Glenn Beck, a former anchor on the rightwing Fox News channel who left amid claims he was too extreme for the Rupert Murdoch-owned network.<\/p>\n March organiser Tommy Robinson<\/a> went to the US in February where in Washington he met more than a dozen lawmakers and was hosted by the US state department. Previously he had been banned from entering the US because of criminal convictions.<\/p>\n The promotion material for the march features an AI-generated video that denounces Muslims and ends with a sequence where Robinson is on a stage adored by a crowd of tens of thousands and contains the line: \u201cTommy Robinson\u2019s vision, this is our destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n While the video for UTK may be AI fantasy, Nick Lowles, of Hope Not Hate<\/a>, said the reality was that Robinson was popular among a significant minority of Britons.<\/p>\n Polling shows he is known by more than 80% of respondents, and while the number of those disliking him is high, 17% like him: \u201cLennon can put more people on the streets than any other person. He is a phenomenon,\u201d said Lowles.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images of protesters gathering in London:<\/p>\n People take part in Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march in central London. Photograph: Maja Smiejkowska\/PAPeople use megaphones as demonstrators from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign hold a march. Photograph: Chris J Ratcliffe\/ReutersA man holds up a placard with the words ‘God Bless Donald Trump’ as people take part in a Unite The Kingdom protest. Photograph: Carl Court\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>Two men arrested arriving into London to attend UTK protest, says Met<\/p>\n Commenting on today\u2019s policing operation in London<\/a>, the Met Police said they had made two arrests near Euston station.<\/p>\n A statement from the force read:<\/p>\n double quotation markOfficers have made two arrests in the vicinity of Euston station.<\/p>\n Two 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.15 EDT<\/p>\n The human rights group Amnesty International has condemned the Unite the Kingdom rally as \u201ca march that brings racism, violence and fear to the streets of London\u201d.<\/p>\n Protesters gather and wave flags during the Unite the Kingdom march in London. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth\/AP<\/p>\n The group\u2019s UK chief executive, Kerry Moscogiuri, said the rally organised by Tommy Robinson<\/a> aims to \u201cwhip up hatred towards Muslims, migrants and people of colour\u201d.<\/p>\n She added:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis rally is driven by a vicious combination of tech companies profiting off the amplification of hate online, funding by the likes of US tech billionaire Robert Shillman to further their own agendas and the scapegoating of migrants and people of colour for rising inequality by media commentators. Instead of countering this narrative, we have seen politicians responding by doubling down on racist rhetoric.\u201d<\/p>\n As the Guardian\u2019s Daniel Boffey reported previously<\/a>, Shillman, known as Dr Bob, financed a fellowship that helped pay for Robinson to be employed by the rightwing Canadian media website, Rebel Media, now called Rebel News, on a salary of about \u00a35,000 a month.<\/p>\n Moscogiuri called on the government to \u201cdo more to protect racialised communities from this rising tide of violence and hate, and stop us going down this dangerous path\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Nick Lowles, director of the anti-fascist campaign group Hope Not Hate, has shared a poll on Tommy Robinson\u2019s popularity this morning as the far-right leader\u2019s Unite the Kingdom rally gathers pace.<\/p>\n According to a poll of 45,000 people conducted by Hope Not Hate, 17% of British people like Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. This rose to 34% among men aged between 25 and 34.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Lowles said: \u201cObviously a lot more people disliked him, but his reach and support is like nothing we have seen before.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people might question why I post this, it is simple. Unless we are honest about what we are up against, then we will not properly be able to find ways to counter him \u2013 especially amongst those people who are slightly attracted to him but who can be persuaded otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Unite the Kingdom rally organisers ‘spreading hatred and division’, says Lammy<\/p>\n Justice secretary David Lammy said the organisers of the Unite the Kingdom rally taking place today \u201care spreading hatred and division\u201d.<\/p>\n Writing on X, he added: \u201cThey do not reflect the Britain I\u2019m proud of.<\/p>\n \u201cPeaceful 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 People gather in Kingsway ahead of a ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march and rally in London. Photograph: Tayfun Salc\u0131\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n We have some early images on the newswires of demonstrators gathering in Kingsway in central London for Tommy Robinson\u2019s Unite the Kingdom rally:<\/p>\n Photograph: Hannah McKay\/Reuters Photograph: Hannah McKay\/Reuters Photograph: Dylan Martinez\/Reuters Photograph: Tayfun Salc\u0131\/EPAShare<\/a> Sir Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, used a separate article in The Muslim News, a UK-based outlet<\/a>, to insist that both protests are being policed on exactly the same basis, under the same legal framework, with similar conditions and timings and the same expectations.<\/p>\n Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley during a meeting with representatives from criminal justice agencies at 10 Downing Street last month. Photograph: Dan Kitwood\/PA<\/p>\n Pointing out that specific conditions relating to speakers at both protests had been introduced for the first time, he said: \u201cThese place a responsibility on organisers to ensure that those they invite do not use these events as a platform for unlawful extremism or hate speech. Where this happens, both the speaker and the organisers will face consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n Rowley added: \u201cOur duty is clear: to protect communities, to uphold free speech and to police lawful protest without fear or favour. We will make arrests where we see anti-Muslim and antisemitic hate crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n However, one of the organisers of the pro-Palestinian march today, John Rees, accused Rowley of being \u201creckless\u201d with free speech.<\/p>\n Posters in London advertise the Nakba 78 March For Palestine. Photograph: Vuk Valcic\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cI think it is amazing that in the middle of a speech a police man will turn up on stage and arrest somebody for saying something,\u201d Rees told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are anyone in this country who is concerned about civil liberties and freedom of speech then I think we are going to a very dark place when that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Rees accused the police of allowing Tommy Robinson<\/a> to \u201ctake over\u201d the entirety of the area around Whitehall, the governmental district of London, after he had chosen today in a deliberately provocative way to ensure both protests coincided.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.17 EDT<\/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 Pall Mall.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.09 EDT<\/p>\n 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![\"Vikram](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/uploads\/2017\/12\/26\/Vikram_Dodd,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=11c544e126c4149da7d3f86f61f45d67\")
Vikram Dodd<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778932437_675_Ben_Quinn.png\")
Ben Quinn<\/p>\n![\"Aamna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Aamna_Mohdin,_L.png\")
Aamna Mohdin<\/p>\nBen Quinn<\/p>\n