Half A Million Gather In London For Biggest Anti Far Right Demo Say Organisers
An estimated half a million people gathered in London for “the biggest demonstration ever against the far right”, organisers said.
Protesters carrying placards saying “No to racism, no to Trump”, and “Refugees welcome” marched through the capital to Whitehall amid a heavy police presence, with officers lining the streets.
Organisers said their estimates showed they had successfully outnumbered the Tommy Robinson-led Unite the Kingdom rally in London in September.
That demonstration – organised by right-wing activist Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – was attended by between 110,000 and 150,000 people, while about 5,000 were involved in an anti-racism counter-demonstration.
There were several incidents of violent disorder which left some police officers injured on that occasion, and the event was condemned at the time by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who said it had left people feeling “more scared than they were before”.
On Saturday, organisers said people had gathered for a “peaceful” demonstration against “hatred and division and racism”.
Rally co-organiser Kevin Courtney, chairman of the coalition, told crowds gathered on Whitehall: “Our estimate is now that there are half a million people on this demonstration – the biggest demonstration ever against the far right.
“And it gives us all confidence to carry on. Thank you very much.”
Speakers included former Labour MP Diane Abbott, who now sits as an independent in Parliament.
She told a cheering crowd: “The turnout today is the largest anti-racist march that I have seen in my lifetime, and you should all be proud of yourselves for coming out in such numbers today.”
UB40 drummer Jimmy Brown stood beside his bandmates as he delivered a speech.
The musician said the reggae group has visited “all kinds of places” to perform, adding: “One thing that we’ve come to the conclusion of is that working people around the world have more in common with each other than they do with their elite, and the billionaire class.”
He was met with cheers and thanked the crowd, adding: “There are more of us than there is them and I want to thank the organisers here. This has been such an amazing turnout, it’s absolutely incredible.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski told the crowd: “The tide is turning, there have been dark times. I know people have been scared, and we have been afraid, but days like this are here to send a message, a message to Tommy Robinson, to Nigel Farage, to those who appease them.
“The message is, when we turn up, in our hundreds, in our thousands, in our hundreds of thousands, we are unstoppable.”
Sabby Dhalu, who is joint secretary of the Together Alliance and co-convenor of Stand Up To Racism, said the UK is seeing an “unprecedented growth” in support for far-right organisations – but that she believed the size of attendance on Saturday had “intimidated the far right” away from a counter-protest.
Speaking to the Press Association before the event, she said: “The Tommy Robinson-led Unite the Kingdom demonstration back in September 2025 was the biggest far-right mobilisation in British history.
“We believe that the majority of British people stand against the hatred and division and racism that was being encouraged at that demonstration and by these types of organisations, and it’s time to act.”
Asked if she was concerned about potential counter-protests and disorder, Ms Dhalu said: “We’re confident that the size of our mobilisation here today has actually intimidated the far-right, and I think they feel that they are not confident enough to stand against us because they know that we’re going to be out in big numbers.”
Singer Billy Bragg, who ahead of the march criticised US president Donald Trump as “a constant reminder of the cruel realities of the politics of division”, performed some protest songs onstage at Whitehall.
He said while concerns some have about migration might be justified, “their solutions are not justifiable in any way or sort”.
He added: “Re migration, the forced deportation of our fellow citizens, we’ve seen what that looks like in the United States of America.
“And if it does come to that in this country then we will have to be as courageous as the people of Minneapolis who stood in the streets to deny (deportations).”
Organisers estimated around 20,000 people were gathering in Trafalgar Square for a related event where musical performers include former Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
An estimated thousand people joined to march together specifically against Christian nationalism.
The Bishop of Croydon, Rosemarie Mallett, told a church service ahead of the demonstration that she stood with “all people of goodwill who seek to build diverse and inclusive communities” and she and other Christians are “committed to building bridges rather than barriers and to living out Jesus’s command to love our neighbours”.
In December, Robinson led another “Unite The Kingdom” event in London, with a carol concert claiming to “put the Christ back into Christmas”.
Earlier this year, a number of Church of England bishops voiced their rejection of “the use of Christian symbols” by people trying to intimidate others, in the face of community anxiety about the flying of St George’s and Union flags.
As Saturday’s rally began, there were shouts from a group of around 10 counter protesters. One member of the group was carrying an Israeli flag.
A separate march organised by the Palestine Coalition also took place and joined the route of the Together Alliance before the groups formed up for the rally on Whitehall.
Officers imposed public order conditions banning the joint rally from continuing after 5pm.
The Met said on X that 25 people were arrested during the various demonstrations on Saturday.
This included two people who climbed up the National Gallery columns and 18 Palestine Action supporters who protested outside of the force’s headquarters.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) – speaking ahead of the Together demo, accused some of those in power of “using racism to feather their own nests”.
He said the “toxic climate that is taking place in society festers into schools”, where he said there has been “an increase in racist incidents, whether that’s directed towards teachers and support staff, or pupil-on-pupil, so it’s incredibly difficult at the moment”.
Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jon Savell said this will be a “busy weekend for our officers but we have detailed plans in place to ensure all groups protesting this weekend can do so lawfully and without causing serious disruption to other Londoners, businesses or visitors”.
As well as the mass demonstration, a number of protests against the Iranian regime – both static assemblies and marches – were taking place in the Westminster area on both Saturday and Sunday, the Metropolitan Police said.
Published: by Radio NewsHub