Police are searching for a man who called for Keir Starmer to be killed during Saturday's 'Unite the Kingdom' rally in London, with further arrests expected in the coming days after outbreaks of violence. Scotland Yard estimated that between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended the far-right event, organised by the activist known as Tommy Robinson.
A total of 26 police officers were injured in clashes as projectiles were hurled, and the Metropolitan police said on Sunday that 24 people had been arrested for a range of alleged offences including common assault and violent disorder. The force said a post-event investigation was under way, with officers working to identify other people involved in disorder with a view to making further arrests.
The oldest person arrested was 58, the youngest 19, and the average age of those arrested was 39. Three of those arrested at the protest were women. A man who said on camera that 'Keir Starmer needs to be assassinated' and 'someone needs to shoot Keir Starmer', and whose comments were published online, is among those being sought by police.
A Met spokesperson said: 'We're aware of a video circulating on social media from the 'Unite the Kingdom' protest on Saturday. Officers are investigating and enquiries are ongoing to identify a man.' Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was among those who addressed the crowds from a stage, along with a range of other far-right figures. However, there were no-shows by promised speakers including Steve Bannon and Jordan Peterson.
Speakers included Elon Musk, who claimed a 'dissolution of parliament' was needed and said 'massive uncontrolled migration' was contributing to the 'destruction of Britain', in comments made via video link. Hope Not Hate described it as Britain's largest-ever far-right protest. Joe Mulhall, the counter-extremism campaign group's director of research, said it was concerning that such a big crowd had come together to cheer speakers who called for the banning of all public expression of non-Christian religions, demanded the 'remigration' of legal migrants, pushed Covid conspiracy theories, and claimed Britain was being 'invaded' and its population 'replaced'.
The rally was opposed by a smaller counter-protest organised by Stand Up to Racism, which estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 had taken part. Organisers said some of them were assaulted and were hit by projectiles. At one point the counter-demonstration was broken into two parts while Robinson supporters who had blocked the opposing protesters from leaving Whitehall had to be moved by police.
