Tens of thousands descend on central London for anti-racism rally

Tens of thousands of people turned out for the UK’s “largest ever anti-far right” march in central London today, organised by the Together Alliance.

Protesters carried placards saying “No to racism, no to Trump”, and “Refugees welcome” as they marched through the capital to Whitehall amid a heavy police presence, with officers lining the streets.

Organisers claimed up to half a million people attended the demonstration, although the Metropolitan Police later stated the figure was closer to 50,000 - adding it was hard to specify an exact number as crowds dispersed through the city.

The force added there was a total of 25 arrests during the protest, with 18 people apprehended for showing support for Palestine Action and two for climbing up the National Gallery columns, alongside five other arrests.

Organisers told media that people had gathered for a “peaceful” demonstration to mark their opposition to “hatred and division and racism”.

Rally co-organiser Kevin Courtney, chairman of the coalition, told crowds gathered on Whitehall: “Our estimate is now that there are half a million people on this demonstration – the biggest demonstration ever against the far right.

“And it gives us all confidence to carry on. Thank you very much.”

Speakers included former Labour MP Diane Abbott, who now sits as an independent in Parliament.

She told a cheering crowd: “The turnout today is the largest anti-racist march that I have seen in my lifetime, and you should all be proud of yourselves for coming out in such numbers today.”

UB40 drummer Jimmy Brown stood beside his bandmates as he delivered a speech, saying the reggae group has visited “all kinds of places” to perform.

He added: “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.”

He was met with cheers and thanked the crowd, adding: “There are more of us than there is them and I want to thank the organisers here. This has been such an amazing turnout, it’s absolutely incredible.”