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About 110,000 people at 'unite the kingdom' rally, say Met police
The Metropolitan police believe that there are about 110,000 people in attendance at the ‘unite the kingdom’ demonstration and about 5,000 at the Stand Up to Racism march.
Speaking to the Guardian on Saturday afternoon, the Met police said:
It is difficult to estimate numbers in attendance at busy protests but we use a combination of CCTV and police helicopter footage to do so.
We believe the number of people in attendance at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ demonstration is around 110,000.
We believe the number of people in attendance at the ‘Stand Up To Racism’ demonstration is around 5,000.
Estimates provided by organisers and the police will often differ.
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Closing summary
It’s coming up to 9pm in the UK. This blog will be closing shortly but you can find all the Guardian’s UK politics coverage here.
According to the Metropolitan police, about 110,000 people were in attendance in central London for a ‘unite our kingdom’ march featuring far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Crowds of people waving St George’s and union flags made their way from near Waterloo Bridge to Whitehall.
A smaller counter-protest led by Stand Up to Racism, with a march led by a Women Against the Far Right contingent including the MPs Zarah Sultana and Diane Abbott, saw supporters gather in Russell Square before heading towards Whitehall. The Met police estimated there were about 5,000 in the crowd, with many holding placards that said “refugees welcome” and “oppose Tommy Robinson” while chanting “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here”.
Police said they had to intervene in multiple locations to try to stop supporters of the “unite the kingdom” march from entering sterile areas. The force also said that a number of officers had been assaulted, and that some members of the crowd breached police cordons or tried to reach opposing groups.
There were nine arrests, with many more likely, the Met said, as violence flared at the protest. More people were identified to be committing offences. “We will find them and they will face police action, even if it is not possible to do so today,” the force wrote in a social media post.
Elon Musk addressed the crowd attending the march via video link. He said a “dissolution of parliament” and a “change of government” is needed in the UK, and also railed against the “woke mind virus”. Other speakers included Katie Hopkins and French far-right politician Éric Zemmour.
Elsewhere, away from the demonstrations near Whitehall, Keir Starmer was photographed attending the Arsenal v Nottingham Forest football match taking place at the Emirates Stadium in north London.
Home secretary condemns protesters
The home secretary condemned protesters who attacked and injured police officers at the march.
Shabana Mahmood posted on X on Saturday evening: “The right to peaceful protest is fundamental to this nation. I thank the police who worked hard to ensure much of today’s protest was peaceful.
“But I condemn those who have attacked and injured police officers. Anyone taking part in criminal activity will face the full force of the law.”
Also on X, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey criticised Elon Musk for comments delivered via video link in which he said a “dissolution of parliament” and a “change of government” were needed in the UK.
Davey said: “Our democracy is too precious to be a plaything for foreign tech barons.
“Elon Musk doesn’t care about the British people or our rights. He only cares about himself and his ego.”
Counter-protesters penned in
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, was one of the anti-fascist counter-protesters who was blocked in by supporters of the “unite the kingdom” march in central London.
Jamal said that as the some of the supporters of the counter-protest, led by Stand Up to Racism, attempted to get to Whitehall, they were surrounded by thousands of marchers from the “unite the kingdom” march, led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson. This created a blockade and meant they were unable to move without intimidation from marchers.
The Metropolitan police said it was trying to create a safe route for these counter-protesters to leave. However Jamal said those in the anti-fascist crowd were told the force did not have the resources to help at the time.
Jamal said that the counter-protesters aimed to keep morale high through music and dancing, although there was still “a degree of fear” created by the sheer scale of the “unite the kingdom” march. “There was a sense of astonishment that this was allowed to happen, there were fascists on top of government buildings,” he said.
He criticised the police’s “inability or unwillingness” to get them out of the blockage.
He said: “It is a deeply depressing spectacle when there are many people marching in support of racist narratives.
“For 22 months I’ve been leading pro-Palestine marches which have been demonised by the police. But today, they seemed unable or unwilling to stop fascists effectively imprisoning fellow citizens for three to four hours.
“There need to be extremely important questions asked to Mark Rowley and the home secretary.”
More scuffles broke out between police and supporters of the “unite the kingdom” march as they moved out of Whitehall, PA reports.
Objects including a traffic cone, bottles and pieces of wood were thrown at the line of officers as they started to push the group back towards Trafalgar Square and Northumberland Avenue at around 5.25pm.
After this, at about 5.45pm, than a hundred helmeted officers on foot, backed up by dozens of police horses, have rushed at supporters and them along Northumberland Avenue and towards Embankment station. Some marchers - now largely dispersed - faced them carrying flags.
Here are some more images coming in from central London today:
Watch the Guardian’s video about how communities in Luton, where “unite the kingdom” march leader Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, grew up, are resisting division and fighting back against far-right radicalisation.
Elon Musk addresses the "unite the kingdom" march crowd via video link
Elon Musk has addressed crowd attending the “unite the kingdom” march, via video link. He spoke to march leader, far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, over the video call.
Musk claimed that a “dissolution of parliament” and a “change of government” is needed in the UK. He said: “I really think that there’s got to be a change of government in Britain. You can’t – we don’t have another four years, or whenever the next election is, it’s too long. Something’s got to be done. There’s got to be a dissolution of parliament and a new vote held.”
Musk told the march rally: “My appeal is to British common sense, which is to look carefully around you and say ‘If this continues, what world will you be living in?’
“This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business.
“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here. Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”
The X owner told the crowd “the left are the party of murder”, referring to the death of Charlie Kirk. He said: “There’s so much violence on the left, with our friend Charlie Kirk getting murdered in cold blood this week and people on the left celebrating it openly. The left is the party of murder and celebrating murder. I mean, let that sink in for a minute, that’s who we’re dealing with here.”
Musk also said that the British public are “scared to exercise their free speech” and claimed the BBC was “complicit in the destruction of Britain”.
When they finished their conversation, Robinson said: “Not only are we in the fight right now, but we’re on the advance thanks to free speech being fought for, for us, by Elon Musk.”
Nine arrests have been made so far for various offences, police say
The Metropolitan police have said nine arrests have been made so far at the Tommy Robinson-led “unite the kingdom” march, although “many more people have been identified as committing offences.”
Writing on X, the force said: “We will find them and they will face police action, even if it is not possible to do so today.”
The post by the Metropolitan police also said officers are continuing to face aggression in multiple locations, in particular at the north of Whitehall. This is where the police are attempting to create safe routes for those attending the anti-fascist counter protest, led by Stand Up To Racism.
According to the police, officers also faced “unacceptable violence” by attendees of the “unite the kingdom” march at Victoria Embankment, where supporters went to try to access Whitehall as the turnout for the march was too large.
Officers were reportedly kicked and punched. Bottles, flares and other projectiles were thrown.
An update as of 16:50hrs.
The turnout for the 'Unite the Kingdom' protest was too big to fit into Whitehall. Protesters left the route onto Victoria Embankment and sought to access Whitehall from multiple directions as shown on the map below.
When officers moved in to stop… pic.twitter.com/ovvYKEWrFR
Robyn Vinter
A giant dance party has erupted among the anti-fascists who are trapped on Whitehall with far-right groups on every side.
The sun has almost come out and people of all ages are dancing to Lose Yourself to Dance by Daft Punk. Some of the moves are questionable but everyone is in good spirits.
Meanwhile, at the Trafalgar Square end of Whitehall, clashes are continuing between police and the supporters of the “unite the kingdom” march, but the police are slowly gaining ground. Fireworks were fired at mounted police from the supporters.
On the other side of the barrier, antifascists are chanting. An injured man with blood coming from a head wound was carried through the barrier by police medics and brought through the crowd of antifascists who jeered and shouted “nazi scum”.
Drinks cans have been thrown by supporters of the “unite the kingdom” march towards anti-fascist counter-demonstrators as thousands from both sides stared each other down on Whitehall – PA reports.
A line of police horses were facing the union flags, and at one point a glass bottle appeared to smash against a police horse, causing the horse and rider to stagger backwards.
There were only metres between the crowds from both sides, and reportedly a stick was seen being thrown from the Stand Up to Racism side. A Stand Up to Racism speaker reiterated from the stage that stewards were working to find a safe route for protesters to exit Whitehall, as Robinson supporters had congregated on each adjoining road.
Helen Pidd
Whitehall was so full so quickly that it was closed to marchers before the first speakers even took to the stage, leaving thousands stuck on Westminster Bridge and in Parliament Square.
On Whitehall, crammed in front of three big screens, the crowds swelled to what sometimes felt like dangerous levels. People stood on bus stops and portable toilets to get a better view of speakers including Katie Hopkins, Tommy Robinson, Laurence Fox and the Canadian podcaster Ezra Levant.
One man waved a sign saying: “Why are white people despised when our tax money pays for everything?” Another had a placard that said: “Call centres: speak English.”
The Metropolitan police has said it had to intervene in multiple locations to try to stop supporters of the “unite the kingdom” march from entering sterile areas.
The force also said that a number of officers had been assaulted, and that some members of the crowd breached police cordons or tried to reach opposing groups.
Officers are having to intervene in multiple locations to stop Unite the Kingdom protesters trying to access sterile areas, breach police cordons or get to opposing groups.
A number of officers have been assaulted. pic.twitter.com/QcQ5EyN2Pw
Robyn Vinter
It appears as though officers have allowed one of Tommy Robinson’s supporters through the police line in efforts to calm the crowd, some of whom have clashed with riot police and could be seen throwing objects at the police line.
The group seem agitated, with lots of shouting and shoving. The police have brought in reinforcements in the form of another line of riot officers.
The anti-fascist group are now penned in at either end of a section of Whitehall, with the “unite the kingdom” group occupying Trafalgar Square.
Here are some more images coming in from central London today:
Police have asked Stand Up to Racism protesters to stay on Whitehall as ‘unite the kingdom’ supporters have gathered on all of the adjacent roads, a speaker has said.
A large crowd waving union jack flags could be seen in the distance on Trafalgar Square, which is at the top of Whitehall, reports the PA news agency.
