London police brace themselves for big far-right rally, counter-demo

• London police braced for a major May 16 rally by far-right activist Tommy Robinson and a rival pro-Palestinian counter-protest, expecting tens of thousands.
• Met Police deployed 4,000 officers, dogs, drones, and facial recognition, adopting a “zero-tolerance approach” for the £4.5 million operation.
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the far-right’s “hatred and division” amid concerns about violence from “violent thugs” and foreign agitators.

LONDON – London police braced themselves for their busiest day in years on May 16, when tens of thousands of protesters were expected to attend the latest rally staged by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

The British capital’s Metropolitan Police said it would deploy some 4,000 officers – alongside horses, dogs, drones and helicopters – to manage the march and a counter-demonstration merged with a pro-Palestinian protest, as well as the FA Cup final.

The Met has imposed various conditions on the two rallies, over their routes and timings, in a bid to keep rival attendees apart.

The force, which estimates the operation will cost £4.5 million (S$8 million), warned in a statement that it would adopt “a zero-tolerance approach”.

That includes making organisers for the first time legally responsible for ensuring invited speakers do not break hate speech laws.

On the eve of the demonstrations, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned: “Anyone who sets out to wreak havoc on our streets, to intimidate or threaten anyone can expect to face the full force of the law.”

Mr Starmer – facing intense pressure within his ruling Labour party to quit after hard-right Reform UK and nationalist parties scored wins in local elections last week – accused the organisers of the May 16 far-right rally of “peddling hatred and division”.

“Their goal is to convince people that Britain’s problems are caused by those living alongside them,” he said in a video posted online after visiting the Met’s operational control room. “But that is not the Britain that I know.”

Anti-establishment

Mr Robinson – real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – is a former football hooligan turned anti-Islam activist whose profile has soared in recent years, in particular online.

Last September, he drew up to 150,000 people into central London for a similarly themed rally proclaiming “national unity, free speech and Christian values”.

X owner Elon Musk addressed that event, which shocked mainstream Britain for its scale and raw messaging, as well as clashes between some participants and police which injured dozens of officers.

Mr Robinson’s growing appeal comes amid public anger over tens of thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel each year in small boats, wider immigration policies, alleged free speech curbs and other issues.

The Met estimates around 50,000 of his supporters will attend on May 16, with 30,000 people expected at the rival rally marking Nakba Day, commemorating the 1948 displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel.

The Stand Up to Racism group has combined its anti-fascism march with the Nakba Day event.

Mr Robinson has urged his attendees not to wear masks or drink excessive alcohol, and to be “peaceful and courteous”.

“The establishment has thrown everything in the way of us as we fight to Unite The Kingdom and the West,” he said this week on X, predicting “the biggest patriotic rally to grace this planet”.

‘Hotheads’

Mr Starmer’s office said the centre-left leader recognised that the majority were set to protest peacefully as “law-abiding citizens” but cautioned a minority were “violent thugs”.

Police also voiced fears about football hooligan groups that have previously supported Mr Robinson showing up.

Professor Matthew Feldman, a leading academic expert on far-right extremism at Liverpool Hope University, said it is a “certainty” that some “hotheads” would attend.

“The question is how the internal stewards deal with those people, and how the police deal with the march as a whole,” he said.

The Met said live facial recognition would be used for the first time to police a protest.

Meanwhile, the government has blocked 11 “foreign far-right agitators” from entering Britain for Mr Robinson’s rally.

They include US-based “extremist” Valentina Gomez, who the government said is “known for using inflammatory and dehumanising rhetoric about Muslim communities”.

Prof Feldman noted Mr Robinson’s event and wider movement was “international” and “part of a wider network that does work together”.

The rival demonstrations on May 16 follow a spate of violent attacks targeting London’s Jewish community, with some blaming instances of hate speech at pro-Palestinian marches for helping to fuel anti-Semitism.

Britain’s terrorism threat level was raised two weeks ago to the second-highest level of “severe”, with security officials citing the “broader Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat”. AFP