Overview
- The rival London marches, which unfolded Saturday, drew large crowds under tight policing and ended with 31 arrests and no major incident reported, according to the Metropolitan Police.
- Police deployed about 4,000 officers along with armoured vehicles, drones, and helicopters, and ran live facial-recognition cameras to spot people wanted by the courts or under warrants.
- Security planning followed a UK decision in early May to raise the national terror threat level to severe after antisemitic attacks, including a stabbing of two Jewish men and arson attempts in London.
- Downing Street barred 11 foreign far-right figures from entering the UK before the event, with those turned away including Valentina Gomez, Dominik Tarczynski, and Filip Dewinter.
- A counter-march marking the Palestinian Nakba drew thousands, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the far-right organizers as convicted racists and Tommy Robinson urged his supporters to stay peaceful.