UK streets flood with rival marches as London faces massive police lockdown

London saw one of its largest and most tightly policed protest days in years on Saturday as tens of thousands of people joined two separate marches running through the city at the same time.

On one side was the Unite the Kingdom rally organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. On the other was a pro-Palestinian march held annually to mark Nakba Day. Both drew large crowds and the city's streets required a police operation of extraordinary scale to manage them.

According to the BBC, more than 4,000 officers were deployed across London. Police used drones, horses, dogs and had armoured vehicles on standby. Live facial recognition cameras were used at Euston and King's Cross St Pancras stations to identify people heading into the capital for the Unite the Kingdom event. It was the first time this technology had been used as part of a protest policing operation. The Metropolitan Police described the operation as one of the most significant in recent years with tens of thousands of football fans also present in the city for the FA Cup Final at Wembley.

By 4.30pm the Met reported 31 arrests across the whole operation. Two men were arrested near Euston station. One was wanted on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in connection with an incident in Birmingham. He had been spotted travelling to London to attend the Unite the Kingdom rally.

Unite the Kingdom protesters gathered first at Kingsway before marching to Whitehall and then Parliament Square. Speakers at the rally included former LBC presenter Katie Hopkins, actor and politician Laurence Fox and TV personality Ant Middleton. Members of the crowd wore "Make England Great Again" red hats and chants of "we want Starmer out" were heard throughout.

The pro-Palestinian march started in Kensington and moved through Piccadilly towards Waterloo Place. Speakers included Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana and independent MPs Diane Abbott and Apsana Begum. Many in the crowd wore keffiyehs and carried banners reading "Free Palestine" and "smash the far right."

The government confirmed 11 foreign nationals described as far-right agitators were blocked from entering the UK ahead of the rally. Among them was US-based influencer Valentina Gomez who had attended the first Unite the Kingdom march in September.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the march's organisers were "peddling hatred and division" and that anyone seeking to incite violence would face the full force of the law. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the right to protest is a cornerstone of democracy but drew the same line on hate and violence. The Metropolitan Police said both protests proceeded largely without significant incident.