Tens of thousands of people are marching through central London in two separate protests – one pro-Palestine demonstration a day after Nakba Day, and the other, a far-right rally staged by Tommy Robinson.

Police in the British capital deployed 4,000 officers, including reinforcements from ⁠outside the city, on Saturday and pledged “the most assertive possible use of our powers” in what they called their biggest public order operation in years.

They had earlier forecast ⁠turnout of at least 80,000 – about 50,000 at Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” march, and 30,000 more expected at the Nakba Day rally.

Armoured vehicles, horses, dogs, drones and helicopters were also deployed to manage the separate protest marches, the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police said.

In a Saturday evening update, police said officers had made 43 arrests at the twin protests, which both ended by 18:30 GMT.

“Four officers were assaulted today. Fortunately, none seriously. A further six officers were subjected to hate crime offences,” the Met said on X, with the officials describing both protests as “largely without significant incident”.

Earlier, authorities had imposed various conditions on the two rallies over their routes and timings, in a bid to keep rival attendees apart. Prosecutors were also told to consider whether certain protest placards or chants may amount to offences and stir up aggression during the rallies.

“This is not about restricting free speech,” said the Crown Prosecution Service’s director, Stephen Parkinson. “It is about preventing hate crime and protecting the public, particularly at a time of heightened tensions.”

The police force, which estimated its operation will cost 4.5 million pounds ($6m), warned in a statement that it would adopt “a zero-tolerance approach”. That included, for the first time, making organisers legally responsible for ensuring invited speakers do not break hate speech laws.

The police also said live facial recognition would be used for the first time to police the protests.

The British government earlier blocked 11 foreign nationals from entering the country for the Unite the Kingdom rally.

Right-wing figures claiming to have been barred include Polish politician Dominik Tarczynski, Belgian politician Filip Dewinter, Colombian-American anti-Islam commentator Valentina Gomez and Dutch activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek.

Immigration concerns

Aerial footage broadcast by UK media on Saturday showed tens of thousands at Robinson’s rally – a sea of British Union Jack, English St George’s and other flags.

“Immigration’s the main concern,” Christine Turner, 66, from northeast England, told the AFP news agency from the Unite the Kingdom march.

“We’re an island. We’ve got a clear border that they’re not protecting. Something needs to be done. It’s gone on too long.”

On the eve of demonstrations, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned, “Anyone who sets out to wreak havoc on our streets, to intimidate or threaten anyone … can expect to face the full force of the law.”

Starmer – facing intense pressure within his governing Labour party to quit after far-right Reform UK scored huge wins in local elections last week – accused the organisers of Saturday’s far-right rally of “peddling hatred and division”.

“I think that too much migration – not migration, but too much migration – is causing a lot of problems, upsetting a delicate balance here,” Allison Parr, who also criticised net-zero environmental policies, told the Reuters news agency.

Annual net migration approached 900,000 in 2022 and 2023, but fell back to about 200,000 last year after tighter work visa rules.

Last September, far-right activist Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – drew about 110,000 people into central London for a similar rally proclaiming “national unity, free speech and Christian values”.

X owner Elon Musk had addressed the demonstrators via video link at that event, calling for the dissolution of parliament and an early election to remove Starmer’s centre-left government. The September rally shocked many in the UK for its scale, directness and clashes between participants and police, which injured dozens of officers.

Musk had also warned protesters that “violence is coming to you” and “you either fight back or you die”.

‘Love, kindness and hope’

Not far from where far-right protesters gathered, demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags and placards called for an end to Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.

They marched to mark Nakba Day, held annually on March 15 to commemorate the 1948 mass expulsion of Palestinians from their land during the establishment of the state of Israel.

“Israel, its behaviour is unjust beyond belief,” protester Sharon De-Wit said. “After the Holocaust, etc, all you can do is wish the Jewish people all the best. But they won’t be able to live in peace until they allow the Palestinian people to form their ‌own state.”

Another pro-Palestine demonstrator, Ali Haydor, lamented the divisions in society as the rival voices rallied.

“Well, the society is divided, and a lot of it is a failure of the last 40-plus years of political decision-making, and it’s sad that you’ve got two groups of people, separated based on division and hate,” he said.

“But I think if you look at here, there is no hate or division. This is all about love and kindness and hope. And what we say to the other group: Join us in that hope and kindness, because that’s where the better future is, not the other side.”

The Stand Up to Racism group also combined its antifascism march with the pro-Palestine event to mark Nakba Day this year.