More than 100,000 people pack London streets in march organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson

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LONDON (AP) — A massive London march organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson became unruly Saturday as a small group of his supporters clashed with police who were separating them from counterprotesters.

Several officers were punched, kicked and struck by bottles tossed by people at the fringes of the “Unite the Kingdom” rally, Metropolitan Police said. Reinforcements with helmets and riot shields were deployed to support the 1,000-plus officers on duty.

“We continue to see significant aggression directed at officers by ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protesters,” police posted on the X platform.

At least nine people were arrested, but police indicated many other offenders had been identified and would be held accountable.

Police estimated that Robinson drew about 110,000 people, while the rival “March Against Fascism” protest organized by Stand Up To Racism had about 5,000 marchers.

The marches had been largely peaceful, but toward the late afternoon, “Unite the Kingdom” supporters threw items at the rival rally and tried to break through barriers set up to separate the groups. Officers had to use force to keep a crowd-control fence from being breached, the police said.

Counterprotesters heckled a man with blood pouring down his face who was being escorted by police from the group of Robinson supporters. It wasn't immediately clear what happened to him.

The larger crowd stretched from Big Ben across the River Thames and around the corner beyond Waterloo train station, a distance of about three-quarters of a mile (around a kilometer).

While the crowd was large, it fell far short of the one of the biggest recent marches when a pro-Palestinian rally drew an estimated 300,000 people in November 2023.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and is known for his nationalist and anti-migrant views, billed the march as a demonstration for free speech, and also said it was in defense of British heritage and culture.

Robinson told the crowd in a hoarse voice that migrants now had more rights in court than the “British public, the people that built this nation.”

The marches come at a time when the U.K. has been riven by debate over migrants crossing the English Channel in overcrowded inflatable boats to arrive on shore without authorization.

Numerous anti-migrant protests were held this summer outside hotels housing asylum-seekers following the arrest of an Ethiopian man who was later convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in a London suburb. Some of those protests became violent and led to arrests.

Participants in the “Unite the Kingdom” march carried the St. George’s red-and-white flag of England and the union jack, the state flag of the United Kingdom, and chanted “we want our country back.” U.K. flags have proliferated this summer across the U.K. — at events and on village lampposts — in what some have said is a show of national pride and others said reflects a tilt toward nationalism.

Some Robinson supporters held signs saying “stop the boats,” “send them home,” and “enough is enough, save our children.”

At the counterprotest, the crowd held signs saying “refugees welcome" and ”smash the far right," and shouted “stand up, fight back."

Robinson supporters chanted crude refrains about U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and also shouted messages of support for slain U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

One demonstrator held a sign saying: “Freedom of speech is dead. RIP Charlie Kirk.”

Robinson had planned a “Unite the Kingdom” rally last October, but couldn’t attend after being jailed for contempt of court for violating a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating libelous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him. He previously served jail time for assault and mortgage fraud.

Robinson founded the nationalist and anti-Islamist English Defence League and is one of the most influential far-right figures in Britain. He urged followers not to wear masks, drink booze or get violent.