A London march organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson drew over 1 lakh people on Saturday, in one of the UK's largest right-wing demonstrations. The protests descended into violence that left 26 police officers injured.
The "Unite the Kingdom" rally, billed as a protest against immigration, saw Tommy Robinson's supporters clash with officers as police tried to keep them apart from around 5,000 counter-demonstrators in Whitehall. The Metropolitan Police said the turnout was between 1.1 lakh to 1.5 lakh, far higher than expected.
Officers reported being punched, kicked and struck with bottles. Four were seriously hurt, suffering injuries including broken teeth, a possible broken nose, a concussion, a prolapsed disc and a head wound.
Police arrested at least 25 people on charges ranging from violent disorder to assault and criminal damage.
Who Is Tommy Robinson?
- Tommy Robinson, born Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a British far-right activist. He is the founder of the English Defence League, a group known for Islamophobic rhetoric and violent street protests in the late 2000s and 2010s.
- He was banned from Twitter in 2018 for hateful conduct and from Facebook and Instagram in 2019 for repeated breaches of hate speech policies. His influence declined until Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter in 2022, which restored his account. Now he has over a million followers.
- Tommy Robinson has cultivated ties with American right-wing groups, appeared on outlets such as Fox News and Infowars, and received funding from the US-based Middle East Forum. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has described him as an inspiration.
- In August 2024, after a fatal stabbing in Southport, he spread false claims about the attacker being a Muslim and urged supporters to "rise up," leading to accusations he incited riots.
- Tommy Robinson has multiple criminal convictions, including assault in 2005, passport fraud in 2012, mortgage fraud in 2014, and contempt of court in 2018. He has served four separate prison terms.
