Crowds gather in London for ‘unite the kingdom’ march featuring Tommy Robinson
Here are some images coming in today via the newswires of crowds gathering in central London for a march featuring far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
The rally is expected to attract upwards of 40,000 attenders, according to the anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate. A smaller gathering organised by the group Stand Up to Racism is also taking place.
Key events
The Labour government has been “trying to out-racist the racists all summer”, the co-convener of Stand Up to Racism said as she opened the rally speeches at Russell Square.
According to the PA news agency, Sabby Dhalu thanked the “very happy” and “militant” crowd of hundreds, before telling them:
We’ve got to acknowledge that the events over the summer – all of the far-right protests, all of the far-right uniting behind this toxic narrative, and Reform UK and Nigel Farage, along with Tory politicians like Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman encouraging the protesters, attending the protests in various parts of the country – has meant that we are going to see a very big Tommy Robinson demonstration today.
She added:
Sadly that narrative has been conceded to by the Labour government who have been trying to out-racist the racists all summer, which has just fed this toxic narrative and hatred and racism towards refugees.
Dhalu was followed by author, historian and child sexual abuse survivor Louise Raw – the founder of Survivors Against Fascism – who claimed some far-right protesters who have spoken out against sex attacks were offenders themselves.
“We know the far-right do not stand with survivors, they create survivors”, she said, adding: “Tommy Robinson will not ever speak to you about them ever.”
Scotland Yard said there “have been no incidents of note so far” as the ‘unite the kingdom’ march set off towards Whitehall.
Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, said “patriotism is the future, borders are the future” as he claimed it was the “biggest demonstration is British history”. As we mentioned previously, any estimate on numbers at this stage is exactly that – an estimate – and organisers of marches are likely greatly inflate the number of those present.
In a video from the protest, Robinson added that “Britain has finally awoken” and that “this is never going away”.
The PA news agency reports that people could be seen displaying a variety of messages on flags and placards on London’s south bank at the march meeting point. Some waved St George’s flags with the words “stop the boats”, “Charlie Kirk RIP” and “enough is enough, save our children”.
Several US and Israeli flags could also be spotted among the crowd which had gathered on and around Stamford Street.
Sammy Gecsoyler
Large crowds have begun marching across Westminster Bridge towards Whitehall, with various chants of “Tommy”, “Keir Starmer is a wanker”, “Whose street? Our street” and “England”.
Some are holding signs in support of Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Robyn Vinter
Thousands of counter-protesters are wrapped around one side of Russell Square, coming from trade unions and anti-racist groups including Stand Up to Racism. The crowd is chanting “refugees are welcome here”.
The MP for Poplar and Limehouse, Apsana Begum, is giving a speech calling for solidarity among communities in the UK in opposition to fascism.
“Let’s stand here and send a message to the far right who continue to spread division and hate,” she said. “Not here!”
Ant Middleton, Katie Hopkins and an MEP for the populist German AFD party featured in a video posted by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, titled “the A team” on X.
They, along with other right-wing social media personalities were sitting and laughing around a table, waiting for the march to Whitehall to begin, reports the PA news agency.
Outside on the streets, people waving flags, some adorned in knight outfits or union jack flag suits could be heard chanting Robinson’s name on his livestream which at the time of reporting had more than 250,000 viewers.
From the crowd, a man from New Zealand said he had flown over with “about 100 of my warriors” to take part in the march, reports the PA news agency.
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson said the “revolution is on” in a video posted to X where he claimed his ‘unite the kingdom’ protest was the largest demonstration in British history.
As we mentioned previously, any estimate on numbers at this stage is exactly that – an estimate – and organisers of marches are likely greatly inflate the number of those present.
Robinson told his followers that London was full of “patriots” before saying “the spark has started, the revolution is on”.
There are more than 400,000 people watching Robinson’s live stream on X as they chanted his name and “Keir Starmer is a wanker”.
A presenter on the stream said Robinson is “on his way” to the protesters now.
Helen Pidd
Here are some images from one of our reporters on the ground, Helen Pidd:
Counter-protesters in Russell Square, meanwhile, are milling around with placards that say “refugees welcome” and “oppose Tommy Robinson”, chanting: “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here.”
Helen Pidd
Many thousands of people are gathering for the march on Stamford St near Waterloo.
The crowd is 70-80% male and almost exclusively white.
Flags and banners are everywhere and people keep singing “Keir Starmer’s a wanker” to the tune of Seven Nation Army.
Hundreds of people were gathered outside Blackfriars station and lined along Blackfriars Bridge before the rally, PA reports.
Pockets of the crowd started chanting “fuck you Starmer” while many were wearing or holding England and Union flags
London Underground trains heading towards the station were packed with people seemingly on the way to the demonstration.
We’ve got a few more pictures from central London:
As ever with large protests or marches, it can be hard to get an accurate figure on how many people are attending, with estimates often relying in inflated figures from organisers.
However, the PA news agency is reporting that the number of attendees is already in the ‘thousands’.
The ‘unite the kingdom’ march and rally organised by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, began in Stamford Street near Waterloo Bridge with crowds building since mid-morning.
The crowds will march towards the southern end of Whitehall.
Around 1,000 officers will be deployed in London in a bid to prevent clashes between protesters with opposing views.
