THOUSANDS of people have gathered in London for a rally organised by far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, as well as a counterdemonstration.
The “Unite the Kingdom” event is taking place in Whitehall on Saturday afternoon. Crowds massed near Waterloo Station prior to the rally, with people wearing and waving union flags and the St George cross.
Meanwhile, a counter-protest, dubbed March Against Fascism, organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), will be taking place simultaneously.
Pockets of the crowd in Blackfriars were chanting “f*** you Starmer” while London Underground trains were packed with people seemingly on the way to the protest.
Counter-protesters in Russell Square milled around with placards that said “Refugees welcome” and “Oppose Tommy Robinson”, chanting “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here”.
Around 1000 officers will be deployed in London in a bid to prevent clashes between protesters with opposing views.
Police have confirmed they are not using facial recognition technology for the Unite the Kingdom demonstration, although a mobile CCTV unit is in place.
Supporters of Robinson claimed a million people were in London to attend the Unite the Kingdom event. The Metropolitan Police said it would not be providing a crowd estimate.
A livestream of the event on Robinson’s Twitter/X account was being watched by more than 300,000 people by midday.
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.
The SUTR protest will form up in Russell Square from midday before marching via Kingsway, Aldwych and the Strand to the northern end of Whitehall for a rally.
The march will be led by hundreds of women, SUTR said, including suspended Labour MP Diane Abbott (below).
Both demonstrations will be separated by barriers with a “sterile area” to minimise the risk of clashes between the groups.
The Unite the Kingdom event has been described by Robinson as “the UK’s biggest free speech festival” and is set to hear from speakers including US President Donald Trump ’s former strategist Steve Bannon and far-right media personality Katie Hopkins .
Despite the rally being promoted as a pro-Britain event, some attendees were draped in Israel flags and filmed singing "you can shove your Palestine up your arse".
"You can shove Palestine up your ar#e." Pro Israel activists at today's Tommy Robinson rally in London belittle the suffering of the Palestinian people who are suffering daily massacres at the hands of the genocidal Israeli state. pic.twitter.com/7DTw2ud9kg
— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) September 13, 2025
Robinson, who recently avoided charges after an alleged assault, previously called on attendees of his rally to not wear masks, drink alcohol or be violent.
Strict conditions will be imposed under the Public Order Act on where and when campaigners can protest, the Met said, with the SUTR event ending at 4pm and the Unite the Kingdom event finishing at 6pm.
The Met have also urged Muslim Londoners to go about the city as normal and not change any plans amid suggestions of potential safety concerns from the right-wing event.
Commander Clair Haynes, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: “We recognise that there are particular concerns for many in London’s Muslim communities ahead of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest given the record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and incidents of offensive chanting by a minority at previous marches.
“There have been some suggestions that Muslim Londoners should change their behaviour this Saturday, including not coming into town. That is not our advice.
“Everyone should be able to feel safe travelling into and around London.”
Five Premier League football matches are also set to take place on Saturday, including derbies between West Ham and Tottenham, and Brentford and Chelsea.
More than 1600 officers will be deployed in total across the city, with 500 brought in from other forces, the Metropolitan Police said.
