The Met Police were on high alert with more than a thousand officers drafted in as two large-scale demonstrations were underway in London. An estimated 110,000 people were taking part in the right-wing ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest, police say.
Footage showed Robinson supporters draped in flags fighting with the police, with some ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protesters climbing on the fence outside Portcullis House, where MPs have their offices.
Witnesses informed Metro that during the Stand Up To Racism march, there were also some altercations between demonstrators and police.
Met Police said: ‘A crowd of ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protesters attempted to enter the sterile area on Whitehall, that is a place to keep the two protests apart. Officers were attacked with projectiles and had to use force to avoid their cordon being breached.’
Tommy Robinson supporters and Stand Up to Racism protesters have stared each other down at different protests in Whitehall.
The two groups were separated by a line of police officers on Whitehall Place, one side waving placards that said ‘refugees welcome. Stop the far right’ and the other flying Union and St George’s flags.
Anti-fascist protesters yelled ‘Tommy Robinson’s a wanker’ and ‘whose streets, our streets’.
A speaker said the Tommy Robinson demonstration was ‘so boring, they’ve come round to listen to us’.
Stand Up to Racism protesters were yelling ‘fascist scum’, metres from a group of Tommy Robinson protesters who were behind police holding riot protection gear.
The Robinson protesters were at the edge of Horse Guards Avenue, while the anti-fascist protesters were assembled on Whitehall. The two streets are perpendicular.
The Robinson protesters waved Union flags and a metre-wide St George’s flag that said ‘stop the boats’.
They could be seen screaming at the line of officers and towards the anti-fascist gathering.
In the heart of London, Tommy Robinson took the stage.
Addressing the cheering masses, he said: ‘Look around you. Feel your strength. You are part of a tidal wave of patriotism that is sweeping across this country.
‘This is the biggest demonstration in British history.
‘Turn to the person next to you. Shake their hand, greet them, give them a hug – this is your community.
‘These are your brothers and sisters.
‘We today are united.
‘Today is the spark of a cultural revolution in Great Britain.
‘This is our moment.
‘The traitors in Westminster are watching right now.
‘They are cowering, they are trembling. Keir Starmer, the Labour Party – the revolution has started.’
The Metropolitan Police estimated that the number of people at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally was about 110,000.
It put the number at the counter ‘Stand Up To Racism’ rally at around 5,000.
A force spokesman said estimates were difficult but that it used CCTV and police helicopter footage to calculate the figures, and they conceded that there would be differences between their estimates and that of the organisers.
From Russell Square, hundreds of Stand Up to Racism demonstrators began their march towards Whitehall, and the gathering chanted ‘stand up, fight back’ and ‘we are the women, we won’t be silenced, stop the fascists now, now, now, now.’
On their way to Whitehall, thousands of demonstrators crossed Westminster Bridge after leaving Waterloo.
Robinson said, ‘patriotism is the future, borders are the future’ as he reiterated his claim that it was the ‘biggest demonstration in British history’.
In a video from the rally, the activist added that ‘Britain has finally awoken’ and that ‘this is never going away’.
All of the flags were great to see, but we are all so easily divided now.
As usual, Tommy Robinson’s supporters had different intentions despite his request for a nonviolent demonstration.
However, stand tall and proud. We are not fascists, we are true Britons standing up for our country. The real fascists are screaming for violence, dancing over the graves of the honourable dead men who battled for our country.
Simply said, we don’t want to finance illegal migrants and make our nation a haven for terrorists.
These people are just regular citizens fed up with this migrant madness wreaking havoc on our country. It’s got nothing to do with racism. We just want to end this migrant madness, and what benefit do they actually bring to this country?
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 