Police fear violent clashes at far-right march after Tommy Robinson’s arrest

Police are bracing for violent clashes in central London as a large demonstration organized by far-right and anti-Islam agitator Tommy Robinson heads to Downing Street to protest what he has described as a “March Against Tyranny”.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, was charged under terrorism laws on Friday for failing to provide his mobile phone passcode after he handed himself in at Kent police station in connection with another offence. The 41-year-old was remanded in custody on Monday ahead of a separate contempt of court case.

Although Robinson will no longer be at the protest, tens of thousands are expected to join the march, which has been promoted by influential US far-right figures. It will be opposed by a large counter-protest led by anti-racist activists. Relatives of Chris Kaba are taking part in a separate protest led by the Friends and Families United Campaign, which is taking place in Trafalgar Square.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police Service will be supported by officers from other forces across the UK and the police said they would take “robust action” to “decisively tackle” the disorder.

Robinson’s protest will be under the banner of “United Kingdom”, one of the names discussed in the secret strategy meeting with the far-right agitator and other groups revealed by and in August.

Details of these talks by Robinson have been previously reported and which revealed the inner strategy of extreme right the figure’s attempts to rally Sikh, Muslim and Jewish groups for a campaign against British Muslims. A key tool identified by Robinson was the use of football hooligan groups and far-right personalities with large followings to spread their message and attract as many people as possible to rallies.

The march comes days before a Court recusal hearing in which Robinson is accused of breaching a court order not to repeat defamatory lies about a Syrian refugee, which could see the founder of the English Defense League ( EDL) in prison for up to four years.

Robinson fled the UK hours before a court trial on related charges, only returning earlier this week. In an interview with X on Friday, Robinson claimed he was going out “with a bang.”

In the presence of Saturday’s demo accounts, which Robinson specifically highlighted during earlier planning discussions, pushed the event to hundreds of thousands of followers.

An X post by Robinson calling for people to “be in London next week” on what he called “Judgment Day” was reposted by Laurence Fox of the Reclaim Party, who added that Robinson’s arrest “would open the eyes of many more sick”. of the two-tier society’ in Britain.

Robinson’s campaign also got a big boost from influential figures in the US who, along with millions of followers, turned to X to urge people to attend the March.

Several high-profile right-wing campaigners supported Robinson on X, with several traveling to Britain to join the march. American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cited a post from Robinson on X asking people to be prepared for the “bad guys” to “come for Tommy”. Jones thanked X owner Elon Musk for allowing Robinson to “expose the lies of the Labor government that was trying to set him up”.

American YouTuber Tyler Oliviera traveled to the UK to document Saturday’s march for his channel and nearly 7 million subscribers, while Don Keith, an American podcaster, recently traveled to Benidorm to interview Robinson. In a post on X, Keith claimed that the “corrupt UK government” was sending Robinson to a “maximum security prison with the help of the media for daring to show a film that exposed the truth they wanted hide”.

Robinson’s movement has also seen a significant boost from many of Europe’s leading parties. The French nationalist movement and the leader of Denmark’s nationalist People’s Party told followers to join the Downing Street march.

Morten Messerschmidt, The leader of the Danish People’s Party told X that the UK is turning into a “totalitarian state”. He added that it was “deeply concerning” that Robinson was facing prison for “exercising his right to free speech and presenting a different version of the truth than that of the state-funded media”.

Ahead of Saturday’s demonstration, tensions rose further with the death of Paul Lynch following his imprisonment for his involvement in the riots. After Lynch’s death, Robinson addressed X to say he was the movement’s “first martyr” and made an emotional plea to the UK while wearing a T-shirt that read “I am Peter Lynch”.

The Metropolitan Police Service has announced that there will be an increased police presence in Westminster to ensure the safety of both protesters and counter-protesters.

Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams, who is leading the police operation this weekend, said: “We are well prepared for what is shaping up to be a busy day in central London.

“We know that when groups with opposing views come together, it can lead to conflict and disorder and a key part of our role is to make sure that doesn’t happen. We have used the conditions of the Public Order Act to ensure that those involved stick to sufficiently distant assembly routes and areas. Officers will be monitoring closely to ensure conditions are being met.”