Met police flood central London streets with 1,000 officers to keep the peace ahead of protest led by Tommy Robinson, anti-racism counter-protest and Trans Pride event The force have closed roads across the centre of London to keep them apart By Matthew Lodge Published: 06:51 EDT, 27 July 2024 | Updated: 06:51 EDT, 27 July 2024 e-mail View comments The Met have flooded central London with a 1,000 police officers to keep the peace ahead of three demonstrations in the capital this afternoon. A Tommy Robinson rally, a counter-demonstration by Stand Up To Racism and a Trans Pride event will all take place within the space of two miles, sparking fears of clashes between the groups. The Metropolitan Police says the vast majority of its officers on-duty today will be tasked with keeping the groups, some of whom have diametrically opposed views, apart from each other.
The 'Uniting The Kingdom' event, which has been billed as a 'patriotic rally' will see participants gather on The Strand, before marching to Trafalgar Square. When they reach the historic venue there will be speeches from the likes of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley- Lennon, and other members of the far-right. Police officers walk down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square ahead of today's protests, with metal barriers in the road to stop the demonstrations mixing Three police vans sit in front of metal barriers on Whitehall before the rallies take place today A rally organised by Tommy Robinson, whose real name i.