Overview
- Large rival marches in central London on Saturday drew an estimated 80,000 people by police counts, and the Met reported 43 arrests by the evening with events largely contained.
- The Met mounted a £4.5 million operation with about 4,000 officers and deployed horses, dogs, drones, helicopters and armoured vehicles to prevent clashes.
- Officers used live facial recognition at a Camden site for the first time at a protest to identify suspects, including people still wanted after violence at a 2025 Unite the Kingdom rally.
- New conditions made organisers responsible for ensuring invited speakers do not break hate speech laws, and prosecutors were told to treat filmed placards and chants as potential stirring‑up offences.
- The government barred 11 foreign far‑right figures from entering the UK ahead of the rally, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned anyone seeking to wreak havoc would face the full force of the law.