A counter protest , organised by Stand Up To Racism, to the ‘unite the kingdom’ demonstration organised by the far right Steven Yaxley Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson). While many on the protest, may say they are not far right, the organisers and leaders definitely are.
In Trafalgar Square, the Met Police, failed to keep the far right protests away from the counter protest. The far right, which consisted mostly of white men, many of who were drunk, behaved aggressively, shouted abuse, sometimes racist and threatened people on the anti racism demonstration. One man tried to pull my scarf off. They chanted ‘paedo’, ‘traitor’ and ‘leftie scum’. The far right, greatly outnumbered the counter protest, which is deeply worrying. The counter protest was led by the women’s bloc, and of course was diverse in many ways and peaceful. The Brighton Stand Up Racism group travelled up on the train together. The counter protest was meant to finish with speeches in Whitehall, but due to the number of far right and poor police management, many were unable to reach the designated area. The police kettled the SUTR into Whitehall, blocking the entrance, which meant many were stuck in Trafalgar Square, with the far right.
Voices from the Protests 