Tommy Robinson tells tens of thousands at London rally to prepare for ‘battle of Britain’
Turnout down at second ‘unite the kingdom’ march featuring Islamophobic and ethnonationalist hate speech and flyers
TL;DR
- Tommy Robinson urged supporters at a London rally to prepare for the 'battle of Britain' and engage in local politics before the next general election.
- Organizers claimed millions attended the 'unite the kingdom' march, but police estimated around 60,000, fewer than the previous year.
- The rally distributed Islamophobic and ethnonationalist hate speech and flyers.
- Police spent £4.5 million on policing the march and a separate pro-Palestinian demonstration, making 43 arrests.
- Speakers included Siobhan Whyte, whose daughter was murdered by an asylum seeker, and Polish politician Dominik Tarczyński via video link.
- Katie Hopkins sent a video message, and some demonstrators distributed flyers seeking 'a future for white people'.
- The Metropolitan police stated both protests proceeded largely without significant incident despite the arrests.
- The campaign group Hope Not Hate described Robinson's movement as 'deeply worrying' and a 'significant threat'.