On Saturday, thousands of people marched through London as part of a large-scale demonstration organized by right-wing activist Tommy Robinson. The event was billed as the “biggest patriotic rally the UK has ever seen,” with demonstrators waving Union Jack flags and wearing patriotic clothing. The march began at the Royal Courts of Justice, where Robinson had been arrested in November for refusing to leave a pro-Israel demonstration, and ended at Trafalgar Square, where speeches were delivered by activists.
While many attendees sang patriotic slogans such as “England ’till I die,” some chanted anti-Islam slogans like “Who the f**k is Allah?” and “You can stick your f**king Islam up your arse.” Tommy Robinson heavily focused on anti-immigrant and anti-Islam themes during his speech, telling supporters that Britons would no longer be “replaced” and discussing the existence of Pakistani ‘grooming gangs’ as a “stain” on British history.
Robinson claimed that 100,000 people attended the rally, although this figure has not been verified. A group of left-wing protesters assembled at nearby Whitehall and were kept separate from Robinson’s followers by police. Some scuffles were reported during the event, and several arrests were made as a result. London’s Metropolitan Police announced that they would investigate “racist and anti-Muslim” language used by attendees of the rally.
In a video posted to his X account after the event, Robinson described the day as an “absolute success.” However, his decision to end the event with a screening of his documentary ‘Silenced’ could potentially result in a jail sentence. The activist has already been ordered by a judge not to release the film, which allegedly contains false claims about a Syrian student who was attacked at a Yorkshire secondary school in 2018. Robinson was sued for libel by the student, Jamal Hijazi, and ordered to pay £100,000 ($128,500) in damages in 2021.
I’ll be jailed for two years for showing the inconceivable truth,” Robinson told the crowd in London. The activist is already due in court on Tuesday, where he faces contempt charges for releasing the documentary.