Closing summary
The Guardian’s live coverage of today’s protests in London is coming to an end.
Organisers said 500,000 people – including politicians, musicians, trade unionists and members of the Together Alliance – turned out for the rally against the far right, though police estimates put the figures at a tenth of that. Here’s a round-up of what happened today:
Speaking to the crowd, Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised Reform’s response to the US-Israel war on Iran, as well as telling the crowds that “the tide is turning” on the far right. “There have been dark times. I know people have been scared, and we have been afraid, but days like this are here to send a message, a message to Tommy Robinson, to Nigel Farage, to those who appease them,” he said.
The Met Police said they made 25 arrests at the protest. The force said this included 18 people who staged a protest in support of the banned group Palestine Action outside New Scotland Yard. Another two people were arrested for climbing up the National Gallery columns.
Members of UB40, the Birmingham reggae band who were active in the anti-fascist campaigns of the 1980s such as Rock Against Racism, attended and spoke at today’s demonstration. The group’s drummer Jimmy Brown stood beside his bandmates as he delivered a speech. The musician said the reggae group has visited “all kinds of places” to perform, adding: “One thing that we’ve come to the conclusion of is that working people around the world have more in common with each other than they do with their elite, and the billionaire class.”
An estimated 1,000 people joined the event to march against the Christian nationalism promoted by the likes of Tommy Robinson. The Bishop of Croydon, Rosemarie Mallett, told a church service before the demonstration that she stood with “all people of goodwill who seek to build diverse and inclusive communities” and she and other Christians are “committed to building bridges rather than barriers and to living out Jesus’s command to love our neighbours”.
A small group of counter-protesters attended the march. They were pictured holding Israeli, American and Iranian lion and sun flags as the march began. Images on social media showed other protesters on the main march holding flags of the current Iranian regime.
Updated
Met police say protests concluded with total of 25 arrests
In a post on X, the Metropolitan Police said today’s marches against the far right had finished. It had imposed a ban on the rallies continuing after 5pm.
The post said that in addition to the 18 people arrested for supporting Palestine Action and the two for climbing up the National Gallery columns, there were five other arrests bringing the total to 25.
