London’s Whitehall was transformed into a battleground of ideas, identity, and, at times, outright violence on Saturday, September 13, 2025, as more than 110,000 people joined the “Unite the Kingdom” march—one of the largest right-wing demonstrations in recent British history. Organized by the controversial anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson, the rally drew supporters from across the country, waving Union Jacks and St. George’s Crosses, and chanting slogans critical of the government’s immigration policies. The sheer scale of the event, which some experts described as unprecedented for the UK’s far-right, underscored the nation’s simmering tensions over immigration, national identity, and free speech.
According to BBC and Reuters, the Metropolitan Police estimated the crowd at between 110,000 and 150,000—far exceeding expectations. But the day was marred by violence. Officers faced what Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist described as “unacceptable violence” from some protesters determined to breach police cordons. In total, at least 26 officers were injured, with four suffering serious wounds, including broken teeth, a possible broken nose, concussion, a prolapsed disc, and a head injury. The police responded with force, arresting at least 25 people on the day and promising further action. “We are identifying those who were involved in the disorder, and they can expect to face robust police action in the coming days and weeks,” Twist said in a statement posted on social media.
London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan and Secretary of State for the Home Department Shabana Mahmood were quick to condemn the violence, stating that “violence and attacking police officers is completely unacceptable.” Mahmood added, “Anyone taking part in criminal activity will face the full force of the law.” The Metropolitan Police deployed 1,600 officers to keep the peace, attempting to separate the “Unite the Kingdom” marchers from approximately 5,000 counter-protesters, who had converged on Whitehall under the banner of “Stand Up to Racism.”
The counter-protesters, a diverse group that included left-wing lawmakers Zarah Sultana, Diane Abbott, and John McDonnell, held signs reading “Refugees welcome” and “Smash the far right.” Their chants—“no justice, no peace, no fascists on our streets”—rang out as they marched, determined to show a united front against what they saw as a surge in hate-fueled rhetoric. Abbott, speaking to Sky News, accused Robinson and his allies of spreading “nonsense” and “dangerous” lies about asylum seekers. “We need to be in solidarity with asylum seekers, and we need to show that we are united,” she said. Ben Hetchin, a teacher present at the counter-protest, told Reuters, “The more that we welcome people, the stronger we are as a country.”
The “Unite the Kingdom” rally was not just a show of numbers; it was a showcase of international far-right solidarity. Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, called the march “a show of patriotic unity like nothing seen before.” Addressing his supporters, he declared, “Today is the spark of a cultural revolution in Great Britain. This is our moment.” He claimed the rally was about defending free speech, British heritage, and culture, and argued that migrants now had more rights in court than “the British public, the people that built this nation.”
Prominent figures joined Robinson, either in person or via video link. US billionaire Elon Musk, French far-right politician Eric Zemmour, and Petr Bystron of Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party all addressed the crowd. Musk voiced his concern for Britain’s future, saying, “There’s something beautiful about being British, and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion, but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration.” Zemmour repeated the so-called “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, claiming, “We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European people by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture. You and we are being colonised by our former colonies.”
For many attendees, the rally was deeply personal. Sandra Mitchell, one of Robinson’s supporters, said, “We want our country back; we want our free speech back on track. They need to stop illegal migration into this country.” Emily Rose, who traveled from Glasgow, was moved by the turnout. “I can’t believe it,” she told AFP. “I knew I needed to be here. We need to be heard.” The event also included a tribute to slain US conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with a moment of silence and a bagpiper playing Amazing Grace, highlighting the transatlantic connections among far-right movements.
Yet, the day’s events did not occur in a vacuum. This summer, the UK saw a string of anti-immigration protests, some outside hotels housing asylum seekers, following the arrest and conviction of an Ethiopian man for sexually assaulting a minor. British and English flags have become increasingly common at such rallies, a visible sign of the country’s ongoing debate over national identity. Ahead of Saturday’s protest, Commander Clair Haynes of the Metropolitan Police acknowledged that many Muslim Londoners might have “particular concerns” about the march, given Robinson’s record of anti-Muslim rhetoric. In a statement, she reassured, “Everyone should be able to feel safe travelling into and around London.”
Notably, the scale of the “Unite the Kingdom” rally was historic. Joe Mulhall, director of research for the anti-racism charity Hope Not Hate, told the BBC it was “probably… the largest far-right demonstration ever in Britain.” Georgios Samaras, assistant public policy professor at King’s College London, observed that “multiple factions within the far-right” as well as newcomers had converged, signaling a new level of organization and mobilization.
The political context is hard to ignore. The far-right, anti-immigrant Reform UK party has surged in recent polls and is now considered a major political force. While Reform UK has distanced itself from Robinson, who has a string of criminal convictions, the overlap in grievances and rhetoric is clear. Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, criticized both the violence and the involvement of figures like Musk, stating, “These far-right thugs do not speak for Britain.”
Despite the enormity of the “Unite the Kingdom” march, it was still dwarfed by other recent mass mobilizations. For example, a pro-Palestinian march in November 2023 drew an estimated 300,000 people, and the number of arrests at Saturday’s rally—25—was far lower than the 890 detained at a recent Palestine Action protest, which remained largely peaceful.
Saturday’s events in London have laid bare the deep divides in British society over immigration, identity, and the limits of protest. As investigations into the violence continue and politicians on all sides grapple with the fallout, the streets of Whitehall have become a symbol of a nation at a crossroads—where the battle over what it means to be British is being fought not just in Parliament, but in the public square.