London Swells with Anti-Immigration Rally and Counter-Protest

13 September 2025

Members of the campaign group, Stand Up to Racism, demonstrate against a rally organised by the British anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, in London, Britain, September 13, 2025. REUTERS

Tens of thousands of people flooded central London streets on Saturday for a deeply polarised demonstration organised by anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson and a rival gathering mounted by the group Stand Up to Racism. Flags of England and Britain filled the crowds as the protesters moved toward Westminster through packed thoroughfares south of the River Thames. The air was charged with slogans attacking Prime Minister Keir Starmer, placards calling for “send them home,” and an uneasy mix of national pride and anger.

Robinson, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has cast the march he calls Unite the Kingdom as a stand for free speech. It was also planned in the wake of the fatal shooting of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which occurred days earlier. Supporters hoisted Union flags next to St George’s Crosses, MAGA caps, and even American and Israeli flags as they joined the march. Some carried children; many spoke as though the country’s very identity was under threat. “We want our country back, we want our free speech back on track,” said one marcher.

Meanwhile the counter-protest by Stand Up to Racism rallied nearby. Its members anticipated inflammatory chants and symbols. London’s Metropolitan Police readied one of their largest deployments in recent memory—more than 1,600 officers, including around 500 brought in from other forces. Commander Clair Haynes, in charge of the operation, promised that authorities would act without bias, enforcing the law where needed but also protecting the right to protest.

Critics of Robinson’s past said that previous demonstrations had featured anti-Muslim rhetoric and offensive chants. For many in London’s diverse communities the fear was that this march would continue that pattern.

The issue of immigration has surged to top political concern in Britain. As economic worries simmer, the arrival of more than 28,000 migrants this year via small boats across the Channel has become a flashpoint. Public frustration has grown that the issue has gone largely unaddressed amid political wrangling and competing media narratives. Flags and street markings painted in patriotic red and white have been interpreted two ways by observers either spontaneous declarations of love of country or faint embers of exclusion and hostility toward foreigners.

During the rally voices on the ground spoke bluntly. One woman said illegal migration needed to be stopped. Another expressed belief in Robinson’s message. Many more seemed drawn by what they saw as erosion of free speech and what they considered unfair censorship and suppression of dissent.

At the same time, the counter-protesters denounced xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism. They held that Britain’s true strength lay in its diversity and in treating migrants humanely. The two sides looked at each other across police lines, each convinced that the other posed a threat, each demanding to be heard.

For the authorities the balance was delicate. Apart from the demonstrations, the day included high-profile sports events and concerts which added to demands on policing. Ensuring public order without suppressing civil liberties remained their unspoken task throughout. Haynes said past incidents had shown that a minority at such protests sometimes cross lines chanting slogans that offend or threaten. The police prepared for that possibility.

As dusk fell the thousands dispersed, some marching away in small clusters, others lingering in clusters around Parliament Square, their voices still echoing. For many this day has reaffirmed divides nobody wants ignored, tensions that fester when migration policy, national identity, and free speech collide in the public square.