Around a thousand supporters of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson) march through central London, from Waterloo to Whitehall, to demand his release from prison, on February 1, 2025. [Getty]
Thousands of supporters of jailed far-right agitator Tommy Robinson marched in London Saturday demanding his release, while police deployed to keep them apart from a large counter-protest.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk posted a message of support on his online platform X, his latest intervention in support of Europe‘s far right.
Robinson, 42, is serving an 18-month jail term imposed in October after he admitted breaching a 2021 High Court injunction.
Protesters organised under the name “Stop the Isolation” and “Unite the Kingdom” gathered outside Waterloo railway station before heading towards parliament.
Many waved England flags, with one reading “stop the boats”, while others wore red hats carrying the initials MEGA (Make England Great Again), a variation on US President Donald Trump‘s campaign slogan.
Support from Musk
The crowds sang Robinson’s name, along with “Rule Britannia”, as they started the march towards the prime minister’s residence in Downing Street.
Some protesters held placards reading “end state-sanctioned persecution”, “Free Tommy” and “UK, stop the rape of white children”, in reference to a “grooming gangs” scandal in which thousands of girls around the country were sexually abused.
The issue recently resurfaced when X owner Elon Musk made incendiary comments after the Labour government resisted calls to hold a national inquiry into the decade-old scandal.
Musk, a top Trump ally, also reposted several comments on the social media platform calling for Robinson’s release.
On Saturday Musk again showed his support.
“BREAKING: Numbers are growing as thousands of British patriots demand the release of Tommy Robinson,” he posted on X, with a brief clip that appeared to have been shot from the demonstration.
“The British have had enough,” he added.
Counter-protest
A large counter-protest organised by Stand Up to Racism marched to Trafalgar Square, close to the final gathering point of the main demonstration.
Weyman Bennett, Stand Up to Racism co-convenor, said: “We saw the power of mobilising against the far right in response to last summer’s racist riots.
“We must bring that anti-racist spirit onto the streets of London and reject the politics of hate,” he added.
Officers were on hand to keep the groups apart.
In a series of posts on X, London Metropolitan Police said they had made six arrests for public order offences, including one demonstrator who set off a flare and others who breached the area separating the two protests.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a leading figure in Britain’s increasingly visible far-right scene, with around a million followers on X.
He was prominent online throughout the anti-immigrant unrest that rocked the country last year.
One of Britain’s most high-profile anti-Muslim activists, he first gained a following in 2009 when he helped found the now-defunct English Defence League (EDL) in his hometown of Luton, north of London.
His adopted name belonged to an infamous football hooligan, and many EDL members were thought to be linked to hooligan gangs.
His current jail term — the latest in a series — was imposed after he pleaded guilty to contempt of court for repeating false allegations about a Syrian refugee, who successfully sued him for libel.