British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing calls to do more to counter a surge in far-right support after what is considered to be the largest nationalist event in decades.
Over 110,000 people gathered at a protest in Whitehall in central London helmed by far-right activist Tommy Robinson and billed as a “festival of free speech”.
Speakers like Elon Musk and far-right French politician, Eric Zemmour, espoused racist conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim hate while addressing crowds wielding union jacks, wooden crosses, Israeli and St. George flags at the rally.
Islamophobia permeated the speeches, with Brian Tamaki, leader of New Zealand’s Destiny Church, claiming that “Islam, Hinduism, Bahai, Buddhism” are “all false”.
“We’ve got to clean our countries up. Get rid of everything that doesn’t receive Jesus Christ. Ban any public expression of other religions in our Christian nations. Ban halal. Ban burqas. Ban mosques, temples, shrines – we don’t want those in our countries.”
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Following his speech, several flags were torn up on stage, including the Palestinian flag, according to the watchdog Hope not Hate.
Zionist activists Avi Yemini and Ezra Levant also reportedly spoke at the rally, with anti-fascist research group Red Flare reporting that far-right protesters chanted “Israel” at anti-fascist protesters in Trafalgar Square.
Police were unprepared to handle the crowds, as numbers outstripped estimates, resulting in violent clashes with protesters.
London’s Metropolitan police said they faced “unacceptable violence”, reporting that 26 officers were wounded, including four who were seriously hurt as protesters pelted them with “bottles, flares and other projectiles”.
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Elon Musk, the owner of X, dialled in via video link and called for the dissolution of the UK Parliament, and spoke of the “woke mind virus”, warning crowds that “violence is coming” and that “you either fight back or you die”.
He also spoke of the “violence of the left” who he said “celebrated” the murder of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
“The left is the party of murder and celebrating murder. I mean, let that sink in for a minute. That’s who we’re dealing with here.”
Eric Zemmour told crowds that they are “being colonised by our former colonies” and are threatened by “the great replacement of our European people by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture”.
Sky news reported that the rally expressed an “overt Christian nationalism”, with participants bearing wooden crosses and being led from the stage in a chant of “Christ is king” and a recital of the Lord’s Prayer.
Hope not Hate also noted the presence of a number of priests at the event, with Bishop Dewar of the Confessing Anglican Church opening the rally with a prayer.
The group said that far-right mobilisations have increasingly been characterised by this brand of Christian extremism.
‘Nationalism, Zionism, racism’
A Red Flare spokesperson, who was present at the rally, told Middle East Eye that it brought together “Christian nationalism, Zionism, anti-migrant racism and a self serving conception free speech that is only given to the far right”.
They also noted the marked influence of “American culture wars” – through the presence of Musk and multiple signs bearing images of Charlie Kirk – saying that it constitutes “an attempt to create an internationalist far right”.
‘People seemed just as interested in drinking, snorting cocaine and fighting with the police’
– Spokesperson, anti-fascist group Red Flare
Red Flare also emphasised the centrality of Robinson to the proceedings: “The crowd loved him and broke out in chanting any time he appeared or spoke. Without his involvement the movement would be much diminished.”
They reported that despite the attendance being “massive”, participants did not seem overtly ideological “beyond a fairly basic hatred of migrants and the left”.
“People seemed just as interested in drinking, snorting cocaine and fighting with the police as they were in what was happening on stage,” the spokesperson said.
They also noted that the numbers of attendees were likely inflated as the event was riding the wave of protests targeting asylum hotels over the summer.
The rally was met with some 5,000 counterprotesters drawn from trade unions and anti-fascist groups.
Addressing the counterprotesters from a podium in Trafalgar Square, MP Zarah Sultana said: “We are here today with one clear message – fascists, you are not welcome here. Refugees are welcome here.”
The counterprotesters were kettled by police for over six hours, as far-right protesters barred their only exit from the area.
One police officer told the Guardian that they were “being attacked on all fronts” by Robinson’s supporters, and had to scramble to erect barricades to hold them back.
‘An abdication’
Starmer was slow to comment on the event, drawing fire from campaigners and MPs for his silence.
“Where is Keir Starmer? Where is the leadership? Fascists marched on our streets yesterday and he hasn’t said a single word,” Sultana tweeted.
“Endless posts about deportations but after a far-right rally with record crowds? Nothing. At this point it is an abdication,” Guardian journalist Nesrine Malik said in a post on X.
Labour MPs told the Guardian they were perturbed by comments made by the business secretary Peter Kyle on Sunday, who failed to condemn the protest and described intensifying far-right mobilisations across the UK as “klaxon calls to us in public life to redouble our efforts to address the big concerns that people right across our country have, and immigration is a big concern”.
In a statement issued late on Sunday, Starmer condemned the violence faced by the police and racist intimidation of minorities by protesters. He further denounced the appropriation of St. George’s flag by the far right, insisting that it “represents our diverse country”.
“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” the prime minister said in a statement to the Guardian. “But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin”.
But Starmer is also facing calls to do more to counter the “onslaught of racism”.
Hope not Hate’s chief executive Nick Lowles wrote to Starmer ahead of the protest, urging him to speak out “in defence of our migrant communities and our multicultural society more generally”, adding that “it is imperative we all push back against the onslaught of racism we currently face because silence will only encourage our opponents more”.
Others have pointed to the role of Starmer’s anti-migrant rhetoric in actively fuelling burgeoning rightwing extremism in the UK.
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In May, the prime minister drew fire for invoking right-wing politician Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech, when he defended Labour’s plans to curb net migration, saying that the UK risks becoming an “island of strangers”.
Powell’s 1968 speech, which warned of a future Britain where the white population would be “strangers in their own country”, sparked widespread attacks on ethnic minorities
Rights groups warned that the comments risked sparking a fresh wave of riots targeting asylum hotels this summer, following far-right anti-immigration protests that swept the country in 2024.
“When the prime minister is saying things that maybe street fascists or people who comment on our Instagram and social media accounts say, it has a massive effect,” Ravishaan Rahel Muthiah, director of communications at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, previously told Middle East Eye.
Muthiah emphasised that the impacts of the measures would not only be felt by migrants, and could have broader implications for communities of colour in the UK.
“The ripple effect will be felt on our streets, will be felt by our clients and it will be felt by the broader communities of British South Asians, British African and Caribbean communities – not just migrants that have newly come to the country, but people that have lived in this country for decades,” Muthiah added.
‘No one standing in the way’
Sure enough, this summer has seen renewed protests targeting asylum hotels across the UK.
The Red Flare spokesperson said that, unlike the protests in 2024 which were overtly helmed by fascist organisations, this year they appear to be decentralised and driven by local communities.
“This makes it harder for anti-racist and anti-fascists to counter, because it’s a different form of organising,” the spokesperson told MEE.
“It’s about challenging these attitudes and making connections between the people living in these accommodations and people in the community,” he said, adding that this is something the UK government has failed to do, choosing instead to court right-wing Reform UK voters by pursuing aggressive border policies.
“The Labour government is completely out of control,” the spokesperson said. “The most authoritarian and racist tendencies of new Labour have just been resurrected and repackaged.”
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Since taking office in July 2024, Labour has introduced a slew of legislation aimed at curbing net migration. Earlier this month, former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that refugees would be barred from reuniting with their families and suggested that asylum seekers could be housed in warehouses.
Tens of thousands of international students have been informed by the Home Office that they would be deported if they overstayed their visas.
Meanwhile, Reform UK has pledged to deport 600,000 migrants over five years if it wins the next election.
The far-right are seizing the opportunity, with Mark Collett, a Nazi-sympathiser who founded the far-right Patriotic Alternative, calling for supporters to “infiltrate” Reform to push their “pro-white” agenda.
“There’s no one really standing in their way,” the Red Flare spokesperson said. “There needs to be some kind of alternative that stands up to this on a national level, because otherwise we’ll end up with a much more hostile regime, not just for refugees and asylum seekers, but anyone who is racialised.”
The far-right rally follows a peaceful sit-in by activists calling for the UK government to reverse their ban of the direct action group Palestine Action. Last Saturday, police arrested 857 people under the Terrorism Act for displaying cardboard signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.
At a previous protest opposing the ban, the Metropolitan Police said it had drawn officers from other forces to form a “significant policing presence”.
A May 2024 report by police watchdog Netpol found that pro-Palestine activists have been increasingly subject to “disproportionate” restrictions since October 2023, with policing “relying heavily on racial profiling and Islamophobia”.
According to the report, between 14 October 2023 and 31 March 2024, 45 people were arrested for racially or religiously aggravated offences, with almost half of them released without charge.
On Saturday, the Met arrested 25 people at the far-right rally on charges of common assault, bodily harm, affray and criminal damage.
