Police ‘assaulted’ as thousands of Tommy Robinson protesters descend on London

More than 100,000 people were estimated by police to have gathered for ‘Unite the Kingdom’

Police officers have been assaulted as they clashed with protesters at a “freedom of speech” festival led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, Scotland Yard said.

More than 100,000 people were estimated by police to have gathered in London for the “Unite the Kingdom” event which faced counter protests by anti-racism campaigners.

The Metropolitan Police said it estimated around 110,000 were in Whitehall for the Robinson event and 5,000 for the counter protest.

The force, which was attempting to keep the two groups apart, said: “Officers are having to intervene in multiple locations to stop Unite the Kingdom protesters trying to access sterile areas, breach police cordons or get to opposing groups.

“A number of officers have been assaulted.”

Earlier it said its officers had also been “attacked with projectiles and have had to use force to avoid their cordon being breached”.

The two groups were divided by a line of police officers on Whitehall, one side waving placards that said “refugees welcome. Stop the far right” and the other flying Union and St George’s flags.

The “Unite” protest featured speeches on a stage in Whitehall from Robinson and other activists including former actor Lawrence Fox, former Apprentice candidate Katie Hopkins along with musical performers and a group of bare-chested members of the Destiny Church in New Zealand performing a haka.

A sea of flags could be seen in the crowd including the St George’s Cross, the Union flag, the Scottish saltire and Welsh dragon with others carrying wooden crosses with “Christ” written on and singing Christian songs.

Chants in support of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, could be heard alongside “f*** Keir Starmer” and “Keir Starmer is a wanker”.

Meanwhile, the counter-protest, dubbed March Against Fascism, chanted “stand up, fight back” and “we are the women, we won’t be silenced, stop the fascists now, now, now, now” as they marched from Russell Square towards Parliament.

Strict conditions have been imposed under the Public Order Act on where and when campaigners can protest, the Met said, with the SUTR event ending at 4pm and the Unite the Kingdom event finishing at 6pm.

Five Premier League football matches are also set to take place on Saturday, including derbies between West Ham and Tottenham, and Brentford and Chelsea.

More than 1,600 officers will be deployed in total across the city, with 500 brought in from other forces, the Metropolitan Police said.