Supporters of Tommy Robinson, the founder of the far-right English Defence League, held a protest march in London on Saturday under the motto of ‘Uniting the Kingdom’.
ADVERTISEMENTThousands of supporters of jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson marched through London on Saturday as anti-racism demonstrators mounted a nearby counter-protest.
The so-called Unite the Kingdom march — planned by Robinson and supposed to feature him as speaker — led to calls for his freedom after his arrest Friday on a warrant for contempt of court.
“We want Tommy out,” the crowd of mostly white men chanted.
The sea of marchers held Union and England flags and some waved “Make America Great” banners as they gathered near a fenced-off statute of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the square opposite the Houses of Parliament.
The march was countered by thousands of people organized by the group Stand Up to Racism who held signs saying “Refugees welcome” and “Oppose Tommy Robinson.”
Robinson, 41, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is the founder of the nationalist and anti-Islamist English Defense League and remains one of the most influential far-right figures in Britain.
He has been blamed for stirring up protests that turned into a week of violent disorder across England and Belfast, Northern Ireland this summer after social media users falsely identified the suspect in a stabbing rampage that killed three young girls in the seaside community of Southport as an immigrant and a Muslim.
Robinson supporters railed against the jailing of hundreds of rioters who assaulted police officers, set cars ablaze, screamed racist epithets and attacked hotels housing asylum seekers.