LONDON — Massive crowds flooded London’s streets Saturday as two distinct demonstrations unfolded simultaneously, drawing tens of thousands of participants to rallies addressing immigration policies and Palestinian support.
Law enforcement mobilized 4,000 officers, bringing in additional personnel from beyond the capital city, promising “the most assertive possible use of our powers” for what officials described as their largest public order operation in recent years.
Authorities reported 11 arrests by 1200 GMT, shortly after both demonstrations commenced, for various violations. Officials had anticipated attendance of no fewer than 80,000 people.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized organizers of the Unite the Kingdom demonstration on Friday, stating they were “peddling hate and division, plain and simple.”
Anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by Tommy Robinson, organized the immigration-focused march. Officials prevented 11 individuals they labeled “foreign far-right agitators” from entering Britain to speak at the demonstration.
A similar Robinson-led demonstration in September attracted approximately 150,000 attendees, according to police, and included a video message from U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk. That event resulted in over 20 arrests, with authorities still pursuing more than 50 additional suspects.
Saturday’s Robinson supporters assembled in central London, displaying primarily British and English flags.
“I think that too much migration – not migration, but too much migration – is causing a lot of problems, upsetting a delicate balance here,” said Allison Parr, who also criticized net-zero environmental policies.
Official statistics show annual net migration reached nearly 900,000 in 2022 and 2023, before declining to approximately 200,000 last year following stricter work visa regulations.
Immigration concerns, particularly regarding asylum seekers arriving by small boats, have damaged Starmer’s approval ratings and strengthened the right-wing Reform UK party, whose leader Nigel Farage has distanced himself from Robinson.
Several protesters directed hostile chants toward Starmer.
Robinson, whose criminal record includes convictions for assault, stalking and other charges, encouraged supporters this week to demonstrate peacefully in what he promoted as “the greatest patriotic display the world has ever seen.”
Earlier this year, he visited the U.S., meeting with a State Department official and speaking to supporters about what he termed “the dangers of Islam” and “the Islamification of Great Britain.”
Census information revealed 6.5% of England and Wales residents identified as Muslim in 2021, increasing from 4.9% in 2011.
In a nearby area, pro-Palestinian demonstrators conducted their own march observing Nakba Day, which commemorates Palestinians’ territorial losses during the 1948 conflict following Israel’s establishment. “Nakba” translates to catastrophe in Arabic.
This demonstration also attracted opponents of the Unite the Kingdom rally, with participants carrying mainly Palestinian flags.
London has recently experienced several arson attacks targeting Jewish locations, and two Jewish men suffered stab wounds last month in an incident authorities are investigating as terrorism.
Police noted that ongoing large pro-Palestinian demonstrations — 33 since the Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 — have made many Jewish residents feel too threatened to visit central London.
Though protesters expressed diverse viewpoints, police regularly arrest individuals for racially and religiously motivated public order violations, inciting racial hatred or supporting banned organizations.
Government officials stated police would detain protesters chanting “globalise the intifada,” referencing Palestinian uprisings against Israel that many British Jews consider antisemitic incitement.
Some Saturday protesters shouted “Death to the IDF,” targeting the Israeli army — rhetoric police indicated had previously justified arrests when directed at Jewish individuals.
