LONDON: On Saturday, both right-wing, anti-immigrant protesters and anti-racism protesters held large rallies in London. Both rallies ended peacefully amid a stepped-up police operation to keep the opposing groups from fighting each other.
The “Unite the Kingdom” nationalist rally by parliament, which was organized by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the pseudonym Tommy Robinson, attracted several thousand people who waved English and British flags.
Trade unionists and anti-racism activists staged a counterprotest nearby, marching with signs reading “Refugees Welcome” and “Smash the Far Right.” On X, the London force stated that only a few arrests had been made, despite the fact that officers from all over the country had been drafted in to prevent unrest.
At the end of July, the murder of three young girls at a dance workshop in Southport sparked days of rioting in Britain after misinformation on social media incorrectly identified the suspect as a Muslim migrant.
Hotels that housed asylum seekers and mosques were the targets of the unrest, which was characterized as racist and attributed to far-right thugs by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It came to an end after more than 1,500 arrests and approximately 1,000 charges were filed by police.
The right-wing protesters who marched on Saturday claim to be “patriots” and assert that migrants and Islamization pose a threat to Britain. Their critics, which include the majority of lawmakers, claim that they are made up of racists, supporters of the far right, and soccer mob members intent on violence.
