ANTI-FASCIST activists chanted “Nazi scum off our streets” at the weekend in a counter-demonstration against a march and rally organised by “Tommy Robinson.”
An estimated 5,000 fascists attended the London demonstration led by Mr Robinson — real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — over claims that police have been soft on left-wing protests such as those supporting Palestine while hard on the far right.
The fascists were protected by police as they marched from Victoria station to the Cenotaph, where Mr Robinson was joined by speakers who included unemployed actor Laurence Fox, who heads the racist Reclaim party.
Police arrested one protester for being drunk and disorderly and for assaulting an emergency worker and another for racially abusing a woman.
Stand Up To Racism, which mobilised about 300 counter-protesters, said the far-right claim of “double standards” in policing originated with then home secretary Suella Braverman last year. It led to a far-right riot by drunken thugs who attacked police at November’s Armistice Day ceremony at the Cenotaph.
Speaker Zak Cochrane led chants of “Nazi scum off our streets” and “Say it loud, say it clear: refugees are welcome here.” Others held placards reading “Oppose Tommy Robinson” and “Stop fascists and the far right.”
Stand Up To Racism co-convener Sabby Dhalu said: “Double standards in policing was a line pushed by Braverman before she was sacked as home secretary.
“This mobilisation has been built by the Tory rabid right: that police are soft on left-wing demonstrations and hard on them.”
She said fascists had not mobilised in such numbers in London for years.
“Once people realise they are mobilising in their thousands, they will mobilise against them,” she said.
Nick Lowles, chief executive of anti-fascist campaign Hope Not Hate, said that “the scale of the gathering and connections being forged are concerning, and it’s vital that we don’t take these new developments lightly.”