Met insists Muslims should not change plans ahead of Tommy Robinson rally

The Metropolitan Police has insisted that Muslim Londoners should not change their plans when thousands of people are set to descend on the capital for a rally organised by activist Tommy Robinson.

Around 1,000 officers will be deployed in London in a bid to prevent to clashes between protesters with opposing views.

The Unite the Kingdom march and rally organised by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon, will see demonstrators arrive in Stamford Street near Waterloo Bridge on Saturday morning to march towards the southern end of Whitehall.

Robinson described the event – set to hear from speakers including Canadian psychologist and political commentator Jordan Peterson and Katie Hopkins – as the UK’s biggest free speech festival and said thousands are due to attend.

Commander Clair Haynes, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: “We recognise that there are particular concerns for many in London’s Muslim communities ahead of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest given the record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and incidents of offensive chanting by a minority at previous marches.

“There have been some suggestions that Muslim Londoners should change their behaviour this Saturday, including not coming into town.

“That is not our advice.

“Everyone should be able to feel safe travelling into and around London. Our officers are there to ensure that is the case and we’d urge anyone who is out on Saturday and feels concerned to speak to us.”

Robinson has called on attendees of his rally to not wear masks, drink alcohol or be violent.

In a video on X he said: “It’s not a time for riots. It’s not a time for violence. It’s a time where you come and you stand proudly for your country.”

He added: “This is an imperative message and an important message: we have to control ourselves.”

Meanwhile, a counter protest dubbed March Against Fascism, organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), will form up in Russell Square from midday before marching via Kingsway, Aldwych and the Strand to the northern end of Whitehall for a rally.

The march will be led by hundreds of women, SUTR said, including independent MP Diane Abbott.

Samira Ali, national organiser for SUTR, said: “Our demonstration will be sending a message loud and clear: we are united against the far right threat. Women don’t need the far right to keep us safe.”

Scotland Yard said barriers will be in place to keep a large “sterile area” between the two groups, with officers deployed there and on surrounding roads to “minimise the risk of disorder” if the groups were to come together.

There will be strict conditions imposed under the Public Order Act on where and when campaigners can protest, the force added.

Five Premier League football matches are also set to take place on Saturday, including derbies between West Ham and Tottenham, and Brentford and Chelsea.

More than 1,600 officers will be deployed in total across the city, with 500 brought in from other forces, the Metropolitan Police said.

Ms Haynes said: “This will be a very busy day with protest, sporting fixtures, concerts and other events. The Met is used to delivering the sort of complex and large-scale policing operation that is required to keep the public safe, and we have a detailed plan to do so on Saturday.

“I am grateful to the many hundreds of Met officers who are being deployed away from their day-to-day roles and to the 500 or so officers from around the country who have responded to our request for support.

“The main focus of the operation is on the two protests in central London. We will approach them as we do any other protests, policing without fear or favour, ensuring people can exercise their lawful rights, but being robust in dealing with incidents or offences should they occur.

“In the run-up to the protests we have been in close contact with the organisers, with local business and community representatives, and with representatives of communities across London more broadly.

“We would ask all those taking part in the protests to be considerate of the communities they are passing through to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Officers will take a firm line on behaviour that is discriminatory or that crosses the line from protest into hate crime.”

Metropolitan Police Federation chairwoman Paula Dodds said officers policing large protests regularly are “emotionally and physically exhausted”.

“We’ve seen multiple Metropolitan Police officers be refused leave and have much-needed rest days cancelled,” she said.

“Our colleagues have and continue to lose time with their families, friends and loved ones because they have been pulled into London to police protests. We must remember there are no ‘extra’ police officers. Just the same hard-working ones having their days off cancelled, having to work longer shifts and being moved from other areas.

“They (officers) have come under attack and been violently assaulted for doing the job society expects of them. The demand is relentless. And it’s not sustainable.”