Sir Keir Starmer has vowed that “Far-Right agitators” will be stopped from entering the UK to take part in a Tommy Robinson-led march in London.
See more: What protests are happening in London this weekend?
The Prime Minister highlighted the travel ban as an example of how Labour would fight to defend Britain as a country of “decency and respect”.
He stressed that the Government was acting to stop hate and intimidation being spread on the capital’s streets.
In a make-or-break speech to save his premiership, Sir Keir vowed to fight the politics of division.
Taking a swipe at Nigel Farage’s Reform UK which hammered Labour in the May 7 local elections, he said: “They want more grievance politics, more division, more pointing at Britain’s problems, looking not for solutions, but for someone to blame.
“Now that’s fine if it’s me (to blame), if it’s politicians, that’s the job, but increasingly it’s not. It’s other people in this country, and I don’t think that’s British.
“That is not the decency and respect that we are known for.
“But it’s here. That politics is with us now, and you’ll see it again on Saturday at a march designed to confront and intimidate this diversity and this diverse country.
“That is why this Labour Government will block Far Right agitators from travelling to Britain for that event because we will not allow people to come to the UK and...spread hate on our streets.”
We will block far right agitators from traveling to Britain this weekend for a march designed to confront and provoke our diverse capital city.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 11, 2026
We will not allow people to come to the UK, threaten our communities and spread hate on our streets. pic.twitter.com/VXwyhsDOnD
More than 100,000 people could attend the Unite the Kingdom rally in central London on Saturday where police have pledged a significant presence.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has the power to cancel a person’s permission to enter or stay in the UK, and has already blocked seven people from entering for the march, it is understood.
Last month, anti-Islam influencer Valentina Gomez was excluded by Ms Mahmood after a backlash from MPs and campaign groups.
The US-based personality, who gained notoriety through stunts including burning a copy of the Koran, threatened to defy the ban and travel by small boat while suggesting Donald Trump’s White House would intervene if the authorities try to arrest her.
Ms Gomez was due to speak at the rally having attended its previous protest in September.
Last week, Right-wing US figure Joey Mannarino said he had also been blocked having been told his presence would not be conducive to the public good.
The same justification was used for banning rapper Kanye West from entering Britain, in an antisemitism row, to perform at the Wireless Festival in London which was cancelled.
The Met Police said it will impose conditions on the Unite the Kingdom event with a pro-Palestine demonstration to mark Nakba Day due to take place on the same day.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley previously said he was “concerned” about the scale of the protests, adding his force was “looking hard at what conditions and powers we should use”.
The last Unite the Kingdom protest was attended by between 110,000 and 150,000 people and there were more than 20 arrests.
This year’s demonstration will take place on the same day as the FA Cup Final at Wembley.
A Muslim women’s group has called for further restrictions on the protest, saying it will be used to stir “racist and religious hatred”.
Muslim Women’s Network UK said Saturday’s it contribute to violence against Muslims if police do not enforce hate speech and incitement laws during the event.
In a letter to the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office, chief executive Baroness Shaista Gohir said controversial figures who have been blocked from entering the country will still be able to give their speeches remotely.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “There will be a significant police presence in central London on Saturday, 16 May where two large protests are due to take place.
“A protest organised under the banner ‘Unite the West’ will go from Kingsway to Whitehall via Aldwych and the Strand.
“A protest organised by the Palestine Coalition and Stand Up To Racism, to mark Nakba Day, will go from Exhibition Road to Waterloo Place via Brompton Road, Hyde Park Corner and Piccadilly.”
Scotland Yard is to impose Public Order Act conditions for the marches to prevent serious disruption and serious disorder.
They will cover gathering points, routes to be taken by each march and the area that any post-march assembly can take place in.
The precise details are to be published in coming days.
