Get you up to speed: Woman detained for carrying a ‘genuine sword’ at Unite the Kingdom protest | News UK
WTXpolitan Police arrested a woman for carrying a real sword at Tommy Robinson’s protest in London, confirming it was classified as an offensive weapon.
WTXpolitan Police confirmed a total of 43 arrests were made during the Unite the Kingdom and Nakba Day demonstrations in central London.
More than 4,000 WTXpolitan Police officers were deployed to monitor both the Unite the Kingdom and Nakba demonstrations in central London, resulting in 43 arrests.
What we know so far
A woman was arrested by police for bringing a real sword to a protest organised by Tommy Robinson in central London. The protester, wearing a white hooded cloak, had the weapon attached to her belt in a scabbard. She was heard saying, “I honestly haven’t done anything wrong” during the event.
The WTXpolitan Police confirmed the sword was real and stated the arrest was made for carrying “an offensive weapon”. A witness claimed that the protester had been told she would not be arrested, only for officers to subsequently detain her. The witness expressed sympathy for the woman, describing her as “completely cooperative” but frightened.
Over 4,000 officers were deployed to manage both Robinson’s protest and the Nakba Day march, resulting in a total of 43 arrests across the events. The police reported 20 arrests connected to the Unite the Kingdom protest, with further arrests made for various offences including assault on emergency workers and drunk and disorderly behaviour. The Met stated, despite the arrests, both marches “proceeded largely without significant incident”.
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Woman arrested for bringing ‘real sword’ to Unite the Kingdom protest | News UK
A woman was arrested by police for bringing a real sword to Tommy Robinson’s protest.
Officers detained the protester wearing a white hooded cloak with the weapon attached to her belt in a scabbard.
She is heard saying: ‘I honestly haven’t done anything wrong’ at the protest on Saturday.
The sword has Christus Vincit engraved on the hilt, Latin for ‘Christ Conquers’.
A witness posted on social media: ‘This poor girl was arrested for having a fake sword.
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‘Obviously in costume, sword was in a sheath around her waist, police then lied to her and told her she wouldn’t be arrested, the sword would just be confiscated.
‘Then he took her around the corner and slapped the cuffs on her. She was completely cooperative and obviously very frightened. Felt very sorry for her.’
The WTXpolitan Police replied to the post on X, confirming the blade was real and that the protester was arrested for carrying ‘an offensive weapon’.
It comes as more than 4,000 officers were deployed to central London yesterday to police both the Nakba Day march and the protest organised by Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as well as the FA Cup final.
A total of 43 arrests were made across both demonstrations, with 20 confirmed on the Unite the Kingdom protest and 12 on the pro-Palestine march.
Two Unite the Kingdom protesters were arrested for assaulting emergency workers, with arrests also taking place for drunk and disorderly behaviour as well as criminal damage.
In a post on X, the Met shared a clip of officers placing a protester in handcuffs near Euston station.
‘One arrest in a crowd requires numerous officers and can involve unpredictable levels of physical and verbal resistance. It’s not as simple as many think’, the force said.
Two men were arrested yesterday outside the busy London station, it said.
One protester was detained in connection with an incident in Birmingham where a man was run, with the second was arrested for encouraging people to attack an officer.
The Met added that despite the number of arrests, the two marches ‘proceeded largely without significant incident’.
It comes amid a wider debate over extremism and whether divisive marches should be banned or have greater restrictions placed on them, such as requiring the demonstrations to be static.
Sir Keir Starmer said the opposing marches showed the need to ‘fight for the soul of this country’.
He wrote in LBC the marches were a ‘reminder that our values are not given but earned. And that each of us has a responsibility to affirm the respect and decency that binds us together.’