London: 2 major demonstrations, protests and counter-protests on the same day: Thousands of people protested against immigrants and for immigrants, a major accident was imminent

The demonstrators held flags and banners saying ‘Stop the boats’, ‘Send immigrants home’ and ‘Unite Britain’, and freedom songs played

Hundreds of people protested in the ‘March Against Fascism’ counter-protest organized by Stand Up to Racism (SUTR)

Dr. Akhtar Gulfam, Editor-in-Chief, Daily Dawn, Director News Dawn TV, OK TV

London: Protests and counter-protests. Thousands of people have gathered in Central London for a march organized by far-right leader Tommy Robinson. On the other hand, counter-protests are also being held by campaigners against racism.

The Metropolitan Police said around 1,000 officers had been deployed to the protests, with barriers erected to create a “sterile zone” between the two groups.

“Today London stands up to defend one of our most important rights,” Tommy Robinson wrote on X.

The Met Police said it had borrowed 500 officers from other forces for the day, along with police vans from Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Devon and Cornwall.

The protesters carried banners reading ‘Stop the boats’, ‘Send immigrants home’ and ‘Unite Britain’. Anti-transgender activists also joined the protest.

One man carried a large wooden cross reading ‘RIP Charlie Kirk’ – the far-right American activist who was shot dead while giving a speech at a university on Wednesday.

The rally included speeches by US President Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon and presenter Katie Hopkins.

A stage has been set up in White Hall for speeches, where several hundred people had gathered by midday.

They carried various flags and banners, and a band could be heard playing songs about freedom and Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Elsewhere, hundreds of people gathered near Russell Square for a ‘March Against Fascism’ counter-protest organised by Stand Up to Racism (SUTR).

Protesters held placards reading ‘Women Against the Right’, ‘Oppose Tommy Robinson’ and ‘Welcome Refugees’.

Counter-protesters were also set to march through central London, ending near Robinson’s demonstration.

The group will also march to Parliament Square – just a few hundred metres from the Unite the Kingdom rally. Speeches are expected from MPs Diane Abbott and Zara Sultana.

Ahead of the march, the Met confirmed it would not be using live facial recognition – which captures people’s faces in real time on CCTV cameras – in policing the Unite the Kingdom march.

It also said there were “particular concerns” among London’s Muslim communities ahead of Robinson’s protest, citing “a record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and incidents of offensive chanting by minorities at previous marches”.