More than 110,000 people in London responded to the call of right-wing extremist Robinson and protested against immigration. US President Steve Bannon was also present. Thousands joined a counter-demonstration.

According to police estimates, more than 110,000 people took to the streets of London during a large right-wing demonstration in Great Britain."It appears to be one of the largest protests of its kind," said ARD correspondent Valerie Krall. The march was led and organized by well-known British right-wing extremist Tommy Robinson.

Slogans calling for stricter asylum policies could be read on posters and flags, such as"Stop the boats" and "Send them home," as Sky reported, among others. Anti-transgender activists were also among the demonstrators, according to the BBC.

About 5,000 counter-demonstrators

Police estimate the number of participants in a counter-demonstration under the slogan"March against Fascism" at around 5,000. However, exact numbers are difficult to estimate for such large events, they said. Police are using footage from surveillance cameras and police helicopters.

Participants held up signs with messages such as"Resist Tommy Robinson," "Refugees Welcome," and "Women Against the Far Right."

Around 1,000 Metropolitan Police officers were deployed in London, with 500 police officers being loaned from Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Cornwall, the BBC reports.

Sea of flags in central London

Shortly after midday, the streets of central London around Waterloo were already full of people waving Union Jack and English flags. Chants against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could also be heard, according to Sky.

According to the Met Police, a group of protesters in the government district attacked police officers with projectiles. The officers attempted to enter a cordoned-off area, the agency said. Police then had to use force to prevent them from breaching the barrier, which had been set up there to separate the protesters from participants in the counter-demonstration.

A rally was also planned in the government district in Westminster, with former US President Donald Trump's strategist Steve Bannon among the speakers, the PA news agency reported, citing Robinson.

Britain's most famous right-wing extremist

Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is one of Britain's most prominent right-wing extremists. He rose to prominence as an anti-Islam activist in the early 2000s.

The former head of the far-right English Defence League is attracting attention with his Islamophobic activities and violent protests, says ARD correspondent Krall."The English Defence League no longer exists, but Tommy Robinson hasn't disappeared from the scene since then," she said. He repeatedly organized protests in front of hotels housing refugees.

Robinson was only imprisoned in October 2024. Despite a court injunction, he had spread false claims about a Syrian refugee. Months later, he was released.

The journalist said that one can see at today's protests that it is"clearly his target group that is on the streets." Seventy to 80 percent of the participants are men, mostly white.

Joining forces with US right-wing nationalists?

The assassination attempt on right-wing nationalist US podcaster Charlie Kirk led to even more people joining the demonstration, Krall said."There was an attempt to establish the whole thing as a freedom of expression demonstration."

Almost all speakers mentioned Kirk and portrayed him as a "martyr" who had died for the right-wing cause. Many spoke of change or the dawn of a new era. The tenor was:"We stand together today and can make a difference," the correspondent described her impressions.

In addition, the Christian message was now more clearly evident than in previous demonstrations. Robinson's Christian background had not been a primary focus until now,"perhaps now one can see the connection between the different movements," Krall said. It's now mostly about Christian-white identity.