Six arrests made as thousands of Tommy Robinson supporters march through London
1 February 2025, 19:15 | Updated: 1 February 2025, 20:48
Six people have been arrested after thousands marched in support of the far-right convicted criminal Tommy Robinson, demanding his release from prison.
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They attended a ‘Stop The Isolation’ march in Central London while thousands more staged a ‘Stand Up To Racism’ counter-protest on Saturday.
Six people were arrested, the Met Police have confirmed. One person was taken into custody after an officer was spat at, while another was arrested after setting off a flare.
Three more arrests were made in Westminster when Stop the Isolation protesters entered the Stand Up To Racism rally area, breaching conditions set out by police.
Tommy Robinson supporters chanted ‘stop the isolation’ as they marched to Whitehall, referring to the fact that Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is held in isolation for the duration of his prison sentence.
The Stand Up To Racism protest also marched to Whitehall to stand “together against racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism and to say that we won’t let the far right divide us”.
Robinson was jailed for 18 months in October for contempt of court charges after repeating false allegations he made against a then-15 year old Syrian refugee, admitting 10 breaches of an injunction.
His supporters crossed Westminster Bridge during the rally, chanting "We want Tommy out" and "We want our country back".
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People at the front of the march carried a banner reading "free political prisoners" and "stop the isolation".
Rule, Britannia was played through loudspeakers.
A "Stop the Boats" flag was being carried by one protester rally in central London, while another reading "Britain lost a patriot - RIP Peter Lynch" was flown.
Some protesters were wearing "MEGA - Make England Great Again" hats and others had "I am Tommy" stickers. Many were wearing face masks with Robinson’s face on them.
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Many of those present were livestreaming the demonstration on their phones.
Robinson has enjoyed the support of Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, who recently faced allegations of making a Nazi gesture during an event celebrating Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Musk has tweeted ‘Free Tommy Robinson!’ a number of times, and asked “Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth?”
One person was seen holding up a T-shirt with "Thank you Elon Musk" written on it during the rally on Saturday.
Robinson was the former leader and co-founder of the English Defence League, or EDL, a racist and Islamaphobic group who had links to far-right Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in a series of bombings and shootings in 2011.
His criminal record also contains convictions for assaulting a police officer, various frauds, stalking a journalist, using a false passport, and cocaine possession with intent to supply.
