Metropolitan police arrested 43 people during simultaneous protests in London on Saturday, as far-right activist Tommy Robinson’s “unite the kingdom” rally and a pro-Palestinian march took place. The far-right event drew an estimated 60,000 attendees, significantly fewer than the 150,000 who joined a similar march in September, and well short of organisers’ hopes of a million.
Nine of the 20 arrests linked to the far-right rally were for alleged hate crimes, including several incidents of racial and homophobic abuse directed at officers. One officer from a minority-ethnic background was allegedly told to “fuck off back home”, and two officers were subjected to homophobic slurs. Another officer was allegedly told “take your religion and fuck off”. Two suspects already in custody allegedly used the N-word.
At the pro-Palestinian march, which police estimated at 15,000–20,000 (organisers claimed 250,000), 12 arrests were made, two for alleged hate crimes. One person was arrested for a sign reading “Globalise the intifada”, which police say is a call for violence against Jews. Another was held for a sign supporting the proscribed group Palestine Action. A further 11 arrests were not linked to either event.
Police said five officers were allegedly assaulted, none requiring hospital treatment, and noted that the far-right protest involved much less hostility than in September, when more than 20 officers were assaulted. Among other arrests, a woman was detained near Whitehall for allegedly carrying a 1-metre-long sword, and a man was arrested for punching a protester on a coach. Three people were held for holding placards with offensive slogans, including “fuck Islam” and “Christ is king, fuck Islam”.
The Metropolitan Police placed tight conditions on both protests, which they said “passed off without any significant incidents”. The force is reviewing further video footage for possible anti-Jewish hate speech. Separately, 22 arrests were made at the FA Cup final at Wembley.
