The Metropolitan Police reported that they have arrested 24 individuals so far after officers faced “unacceptable violence” while trying to manage up to 150,000 attendees. This number is two fewer than the force’s last report, after they discovered “two duplicate records.”
Twenty-six police officers were injured, four seriously, following clashes on the fringes of Tommy Robinson’s latest “Unite the Kingdom” rally in central London. Of those arrested, three were women and 21 were men, with the oldest person being 58 and the youngest 19, according to the Met.
The alleged offenses included common assault, criminal damage, assault on an emergency worker, and possession of an offensive weapon. The police noted that a number of people were arrested on suspicion of more than one offense. The force added that a “post-event investigation is under way, with officers working to identify other people involved in disorder with a view to making further arrests.”
Starmer Condemns Racial Intimidation
According to the Met, the attacks on police occurred after some attendees tried to enter “sterile areas” near counter-protesters at a Stand Up to Racism march that had ended nearby. Police said in an update that officers were “assaulted with kicks and punches” while “bottles, flares and other projectiles were thrown.”
Protesters at Robinson’s event marched over Westminster Bridge before gathering near Downing Street for speeches by far-right figures from Europe and North America, including Elon Musk. In an incendiary video-link address, the billionaire X owner called for the dissolution of Britain’s parliament and the replacement of the center-left Labour government, while claiming “violence is coming to you.” He told the crowd, “You either fight back or you die.”
The anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate described the event as unprecedented. “Seeing such a big crowd cheering speeches that called for banning all public expression of non-Christian religions, demanded the ‘remigration’ of legal migrants… and claimed Britain is being ‘invaded’ and its population ‘replaced’ is unprecedented,” the charity said.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain would not tolerate people feeling intimidated “because of their background or the color of their skin” following the large far-right protest marked by clashes with police. In his first comments on Saturday’s rally, Starmer also condemned the attacks on police officers.
“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” Starmer said on X. “But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the color of their skin.” The leader of the center-left Labour government, who was a target of criticism at the rally, added that “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect.”
