25 arrested and 26 police officers hurt at ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally

At least 25 people were arrested and 26 police officers were injured – including four who were seriously hurt – at Tommy Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” protest, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers faced a barrage of physical and verbal abuse from demonstrators who wanted to breach cordons at the London protests, which saw between 110,000 and 150,000 people turn out, significantly exceeding the estimates of organisers.

Elsewhere, around 5,000 anti-racism campaigners mounted a counter-protest.

Both events began largely without incident but violence later flared at the protest, which featured a guest appearance from Tesla and X owner Elon Musk.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood condemned protesters who attacked and injured police and vowed that anyone “taking part in criminal activity will face the full force of the law”.

People were arrested for a range of offences, including affray, violent disorder, assaults and criminal damage.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said police faced a “wholly unacceptable” level of violence, adding: “Officers went into today’s operation knowing it would be busy and potentially challenging. They policed without fear or favour and approached engagement with all protesters positively.

“There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence. They confronted officers, engaging in physical and verbal abuse and making a determined effort to breach cordons in place to keep everyone safe.

“The violence they faced was wholly unacceptable. 26 officers were injured, including four seriously – among them broken teeth, a possible broken nose, a concussion, a prolapsed disc and a head injury.”

He warned that more arrests are likely, adding: “Our post-event investigation has already begun – we are identifying those who were involved in the disorder and they can expect to face robust police action in the coming days and weeks.”

A stage was set up to hear a series of speeches from far-right personalities and politicians and included an interview between Robinson and Musk, who accorded with the overriding theme of the day by proclaiming the “destruction of Britain” because of “massive uncontrolled migration”.

But, police said, the Robinson crowd was too big to fit into Whitehall and confrontation happened when police tried to stop them from encircling counter-protesters and accessing the area from different routes.

Some people turned off onto Victoria Embankment to get out of the crowds, which the police described as “understandable”.

Projectiles were thrown by Robinson protesters towards the counter-demonstrators as thousands from both sides stared each other down on Whitehall.

A line of police horses faced the sea of Union flags and at one point, a glass bottle appeared to smash against a horse, causing the horse and rider to stagger backwards.

Scuffles broke out as police used batons to try and push back thousands of Robinson supporters gathered on the top of Whitehall and Trafalgar Square in order to allow counter-protesters to leave safely.

Later, more than a hundred helmeted officers, along with dozens of mounted police, pushed Robinson supporters, by this point largely dispersed, back further from Trafalgar Square and towards Embankment station.

As well as Musk, the “Unite” protest featured speeches from Robinson and other activists, including former actor Laurence Fox, former Apprentice candidate Katie Hopkins, along with musical performers.

It also featured far-right French politician Eric Zemmour, who came in fourth place in the first round of the 2022 French presidential election; leader of the Danish People’s Party Morten Messerschmidt; Petr Bystron of the far-right Alternative for Germany party; Polish right-wing politician Dominik Tarczynski; Belgian anti-immigration activist Filip Dewinter; and television personality Ant Middleton who is running to be Mayor of London.

The “Unite the Kingdom” rally overran the 6pm cut-off time imposed by police under the Public Order Act, while the Stand Up To Racism counter-protest had been due to finish at 4pm.