The Metropolitan Police has blocked a planned anti-migrant march from taking place in an east London borough this weekend, citing concerns it could spark “serious disorder”.
The event, organised by the UK Independence Party (UKIP), was scheduled to take place in Tower Hamlets on Saturday afternoon.
Promoted as a “mass deportations tour”, the event was initially advertised as a march starting at Whitechapel Station and later revised to be an assembly in the same area.
Organisers described the demonstration as a “crusade”, urging supporters to “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists” and “take our country back”.
The event is one of several planned in cities including Liverpool, Newcastle and Glasgow.
Tower Hamlets has the highest proportion of Muslim residents in England and Wales — 39.9 per cent, according to the 2021 Census — prompting concerns the march could inflame community tensions.
In a statement, the Met said the decision to ban the event was made in the interest of public safety and to prevent disorder from breaking out.
A significant counter-protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism and numerous local groups, was also scheduled to take place.
Public Order Act conditions have now been imposed, meaning UKIP cannot hold their protest in Whitechapel or anywhere else in the borough of Tower Hamlets.
Anyone taking part in the UKIP march who enters the borough of Tower Hamlets faces arrest.
Officers remain willing to engage with the organisers if they bring forward a proposal for an event in an alternative location, Met Police said.
UKIP hit back at the ban with an angry response accusing the Met of “caving into the Islamists”.
It said the decision “violated our democratic right to peaceful assembly in Whitechapel this Saturday.”
Speaking in a video posted on X, the party’s leader Nick Tenconi said he was "disgusted" with the police decision which he called a "direct breach of our democratic right to peaceful assembly".
He added: "This is two-tier policing at its worst, and the Met have, at best, signified they have lost control of the streets of London, or at worst, are complicit with the Islamists in stifling our democracy."
The party said they were in in the process of reorganising the march for another area of London.
Tower Hamlets has been the site of several anti-migrant demonstrations in recent months, after it emerged that the Britannia International Hotel was being used to accommodate asylum seekers.
Earlier this month, Tower Hamlets Council passed a motion to “stand up to the far right”, pledging to “reject” the presence of far-right agitators from outside the borough who come to “target” local communities during the protests.
Commander Nick John said: “Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.
“It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location. This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through east London would cause.
“We have a responsibility to use the powers available to us to take steps to avoid both those outcomes.
“UKIP are free to organise their protest in an alternative location but they will not be holding it in Tower Hamlets.
“Anyone who tries to assemble, in breach of the conditions, or who encourages others to do so, will face arrest. We will still have a sizeable police presence in the area on Saturday to keep the public safe and to intervene to enforce the conditions and deal with any other incidents.”
