Thousands of protesters who descended on central London with chants of ‘we want our country back’ for a Tommy Robinson rally.
The demonstrators, waving flags and singing songs, have gathered at the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of a march to Trafalgar Square this afternoon.
Cries of ‘Rule Britannia’ were heard before the event, which Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – has said will be the ‘biggest patriotic rally the UK has ever seen’.
The Metropolitan Police have flooded central London with 1,000 police officers to keep the peace this afternoon, with a large counter-demonstration by Stand Up To Racism set to take place, as well as a Trans Pride march all in the space of two miles.
The force says the vast majority of its officers on-duty today will be tasked with keeping the groups, some of whom have diametrically opposed views, apart from each other.
Police have warned that despite leaflets suggesting the counter-protest march will finish in Trafalgar Square, this is not the case and the rally must end in Whitehall instead.
The ‘Uniting The Kingdom’ event, which has been billed as a ‘patriotic rally’ has seen people gather on The Strand, before marching to Trafalgar Square.
There was a sea of British, English, Scottish and Welsh flags, as well as people waving symbols of Israel, the former Shah of Iran and the military heraldry.
One demonstrator could be seen climbing on top of a phone box on The Strand in central London.
Other protesters held placards that read ‘Not far right, just right’, while a red flare was let off.
The crowd, which includes actor-turned-political activist Laurence Fox, were seen chanting ‘England, England, England’, ‘England till I die’ as they set off on the march.
Speaking on a live-stream as thousands of people gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Robinson said a ‘line in the sand has been drawn’.
He said: ‘This is the biggest gathering of patriots Europe has seen, and it’s happening in Great Britain. Get your people organised, unify your countries.
‘Enough is enough, a line in the sand has been drawn. We’re being replaced no longer.’
There were also some anti-Islamic chants from marchers as they walked along The Strand to Trafalgar Square.
After reaching the historic venue they have heard speeches from Robinson and other members of his movement.
At the same time counter-demonstrators are expected to gather for a rally organised by Stand Up To Racism and other groups, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace & Justice Project, will take place.
That rally will see protesters gather at Russell Square before marching down Embankment to finish at Whitehall, less than 400 metres from the the Tommy Robinson event.
Police have warned that they will keep members of both protests apart from each other and warned that leaflets claiming the counter-demonstration finishes in Trafalgar Square are incorrect.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, the Met wrote: ‘Some flyers online suggest the Stand Up To Racism march will finish in Trafalgar Square. This isn’t the case. There are conditions requiring it to finish in Whitehall.
‘We need to keep opposing groups apart to keep the peace. We’ll take action against any breaches of conditions.’
Before the march began protesters heard speeches from trade union officials and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Meanwhile, there will also be a march in support of Trans Pride, with LGBTQ+ activists travelling from Langham Place to Wellington Arch.
This morning Robinson tweeted an image of Trafalgar Square before the rally, which is set to last until 5.30pm, accompanied by the words ‘Today is the day, it’s going to be beautiful’, adding that it would be the ‘biggest patriotic rally the UK has ever seen’.
On Friday he reposted a video which talked about his protest being about a ‘strength in numbers’ showing the establishment that ‘we can organise and do not like the way the country is being run’.
The counter protest run by Stand Up To Racism with the support of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and 11 other trade unions, Stop the War Coalition, Peace & Justice Project and Unite Against Fascism will set off at 1.30pm.
Stand Up To Racism organisers said: ‘We are stressing the need to come together and build once again the kind of broad united movement that can drive back the threat as we have done before.’
Samuel Sweek, of the Peace & Justice Project, said: ‘The rise of the far-right and fascist politics in Britain and across Europe is a cause of great concern for us all.
‘The political establishment has allowed breathing space for hate and division in our communities, we must stand with those targeted by the likes of Tommy Robinson and his thugs.
‘We refuse to cede any ground to bigotry, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia or any other form of hate they attempt to bring to our streets.
‘When the politicians fail, it is the people who must fight back.
‘That is why we will be marching on Saturday.’
Police have put a host of restrictions in place in a bid to keep attendees of these two events apart from each other, while roads across central London have been closed.
No conditions have been imposed on the Trans Pride protest.
The Met have warned that people who breach these conditions could be arrested or face police action.
Chief Superintendent Colin Wingrove said: ‘This weekend sees a number of groups with opposing views assembling in central London.
‘In response we are deploying a significant number of officers as part of a carefully planned operation.
‘Our first priority is to keep the peace to ensure that those exercising their right to lawful protest can do so safely.
‘We have proactively used our powers under the Public Order Act to manage the timings and routes of marches and assemblies, ensuring that the groups are kept apart.
‘Officers will intervene decisively to deal with any breaches of those conditions, prevent crime, and to respond to any other incidents.
‘Everyone has a right to feel safe and be safe in London. Those who abuse the right to protest in an effort to unlawfully intimidate others or to use hate speech can expect to face police action.
‘The police presence will be very visible and I would urge anyone out and about in London, whether participating in these events or not, to speak to an officer if they feel unsafe or wish to report an incident.’