Two people have been charged after 43 arrests were made over the weekend as tens of thousands of people gathered for rival protests in central London.
Stuart Adams, 49 and of Aberconway Road in Merton, was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence for allegedly shouting racially abusive remarks at a police officer.
He attended Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom demonstration on Saturday and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The second person charged was at the other protest, the pro-Palestine Nakba Day demonstration. Dara Harbison, 26 and from Brighton in East Sussex, is charged with assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage and possession of cannabis, and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 6 July.
Among those arrested so far, one person has been recalled to prison, 25 released on bail, three told they will face no further action, three released under investigation, and two charged with failing to appear at court for previous offences not linked to the protests.
Four penalty notices for disorder were also issued, three for urination and one to someone who drunkenly called police officers “tossers”.
On Monday, a further arrest was made when Met officers travelled to Plymouth to detain a 28-year-old man on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred. It is alleged that he was pictured at the Nakba Day rally holding a sign that called for people to be hanged.
Around 80,000 people are estimated to have joined the protests on Saturday – about 60,000 at Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march, and up to 20,000 at the Nakba Day rally. Thousands more travelled to the capital for the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
It was thought to be one of the busiest policing days in years as a result, with around 4,000 officers on duty alongside armoured vehicles, police horses, dogs and drones.
At the Tommy Robinson protest, herds of demonstrators set off from Kingsway decked in Union flags, while others carried the flag of opposition to the Iranian regime.
There were loud chants of “we want Starmer out” and “Tommy, Tommy, Tommy Robinson” as protesters gathered ahead of the march, in support of the far-right activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Many protesters were wearing “Make England Great Again (Mega)” red hats and others draped themselves in Union flags. Some people at the front of the march were carrying wooden crosses and chanted “Christ is king”.
A total of 43 arrests were made – 20 linked to the Unite the Kingdom protest and 12 connected to the Nakba protest. The remaining 11 arrests have not yet been linked to either group.
Live facial recognition cameras were also used at a location in Camden that police said was likely to be used by a lot of protesters attending the Unite the Kingdom rally.
There were more than 50 unidentified suspects who attended the previous Unite the Kingdom demonstration in September, which saw ugly clashes with police.
