London protests newest: Tommy Robinson ‘Unite the kingdom’ march attracts hundreds | EUROtoday

The heavens opened as Stand Up to Racism protesters marched alongside on the Strand, nearing Whitehall.

Rain-soaked protesters, led by a bunch of ladies in hi-vis who had linked arms, shouted: “Let in every refugee, throw the Nazis in the sea.”

“Tell me what community looks like, this is what community looks like”, they chanted.

The Met Police put the quantity on the counter demonstration at round 5,000.

The Metropolitan Police estimated that the variety of individuals on the “Unite the Kingdom” rally was round 110,000.

It put the quantity on the counter “Stand Up To Racism” demonstration at round 5,000.

A pressure spokesman mentioned estimates had been troublesome however that it used CCTV and police helicopter footage to calculate the figures.

It comes after supporters of Tommy Robinson claimed “millions” had attended the march.

The Met Police conceded that there could be variations between their estimates and that of the organisers.

Some individuals attending the United the Kingdom protest ran for canopy below timber in Parliament Square as heavy rain briefly started falling in Westminster.

A big majority of the gang, some with Union glad umbrellas, remained in entrance of the rally stage erected on Whitehall.

Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who spoke on the Stand as much as Racism counter-protest on Saturday, advised The Independent: “The atmosphere with the rise of the far right is similar to how it felt before in the period before Stephen Lawrence was murdered by racists.

“The choice is, do we want a country in the 21st century that stands up for humanitarian values, or do we sink into far-right barbarism. Every civil society institution, including our political parties, has to make the choice of where they stand.”

He added, “Keir Starmer should make that choice and join us in this campaign or go.”

Hundreds of Stand Up to Racism protesters have began to march in direction of Whitehall from Russell Square.

The crowd chanted “stand up fight back” and “we are the women, we won’t be silenced, stop the fascists now, now, now, now”.

Robinson, who is without doubt one of the most provocative figures within the UK immediately, made his identify – and a profession – from being a right-wing activist.

But who’s the person behind this weekend’s Unite the Kingdom march?

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – his actual identify – grew up in Luton, Bedfordshire, which had a big Muslim minority, and in 2004, he joined the far-right British National Party, however left a yr later.

He was apprenticed as an plane engineer on the city’s airport, however was sentenced to a yr in jail after he assaulted an off-duty police officer throughout a drunken row in 2005.

He was the previous founding father of the English Defence League (EDL) in 2009.

Robinson has been topic to a string of police fees, together with being beforehand jailed for contempt of courtroom and breaching the phrases of a suspended sentence.

The Labour Government has been “trying to out-racist the racists all summer”, the co-convener of Stand Up to Racism mentioned as she opened the rally speeches at Russell Square.

As a counter-protest to the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ March, gathered in Russell Square, Sabby Dhalu, co-convenor, advised the gang: “We’ve got to acknowledge that the events over the summer – all of the far-right protests, all of the far-right uniting behind this toxic narrative, and Reform UK and Nigel Farage, along with Tory politicians like Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman encouraging the protesters, attending the protests in various parts of the country – has meant that we are going to see a very big Tommy Robinson demonstration today.”

She added: “Sadly that narrative has been conceded to by the Labour Government who have been trying to out-racist the racists all summer, which has just fed this toxic narrative and hatred and racism towards refugees.”

Ms Dhalu was adopted by creator, historian and baby sexual abuse survivor Louise Raw – the founding father of Survivors Against Fascism – who claimed some far-right protesters who’ve spoken out towards intercourse assaults had been offenders themselves.

“We know the far-right do not stand with survivors, they create survivors”, she mentioned.

Police usually are not utilizing dwell facial recognition in its policing of the “Unite the Kingdom” demonstration which is starting on London’s south financial institution.

It mentioned: “We’re using a mobile CCTV van to help monitor the build up of crowds. Officers have been asked if it’s using ‘live facial recognition’ – we can confirm it is not.”

The dwell facial recognition know-how – which captures individuals’s faces in real-time CCTV cameras – was used within the policing operation on the Notting Hill Carnival.

Scotland Yard mentioned there “have been no incidents of note so far” because the “Unite the Kingdom” march set off in direction of Whitehall.

As individuals gathered outdoors London’s South Bank, US and Israeli flags had been amongst these held by the gang round Stamford Street.

People had been additionally seen displaying a wide range of messages on flags and placards on London’s South Bank on the Unite the Kingdom protest assembly level.

One man held up a placard which learn “Starmer is a paedo’s best friend”, whereas others waved England flags with the phrases “stop the boats”, “Charlie Kirk RIP”, and “enough is enough, save our children”.