Met prepares for busy Saturday of protest and other events

There will be a significant visible policing presence across London on Saturday with a number of demonstrations, football fixtures and other events due to take place.

More than 1,600 officers will be deployed as part of the overall public order policing operation, including 500 brought in from other forces.

Around 1,000 officers will be responsible for ensuring that two demonstrations in central London take place safely.

A ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march and rally organised by Stephen Yaxley Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, will begin from 11:00hrs when participants will form up in Stamford Street, just off the IMAX roundabout south of Waterloo Bridge. They will then march along York Road and over Westminster Bridge, turning into the southern end of Whitehall where a rally will take place.

A counter protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism, will form up in Russell Square from midday before marching via Kingsway, Aldwych and the Strand to the northern end of Whitehall where a rally will take place.

Barriers will be in place to keep a large sterile area between the two groups, with officers deployed there and on surrounding roads to minimise the risk of disorder if groups with opposing views were to come together.

Public Order Act conditions have been imposed to prevent serious disruption and serious disorder. The details of the conditions are set out below.

Commander Clair Haynes, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: “This will be a very busy day with protest, sporting fixtures, concerts and other events. The Met is used to delivering the sort of complex and large-scale policing operation that is required to keep the public safe and we have a detailed plan to do so on Saturday.

“I am grateful to the many hundreds of Met officers who are being deployed away from their day to day roles and to the 500 or so officers from around the country who have responded to our request for support.

“The main focus of the operation is on the two protests in central London. We will approach them as we do any other protests, policing without fear or favour, ensuring people can exercise their lawful rights but being robust in dealing with incidents or offences should they occur.

“In the run up to the protests we have been in close contact with the organisers, with local business and community representatives and with representatives of communities across London more broadly.

“We would ask all those taking part in the protests to be considerate of the communities they are passing through to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Officers will take a firm line on behaviour that is discriminatory or that crosses the line from protest into hate crime.

“We recognise that there are particular concerns for many in London’s Muslim communities ahead of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest given the record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and incidents of offensive chanting by a minority at previous marches.

“There have been some suggestions that Muslim Londoners should change their behaviour this Saturday, including not coming into town. That is not our advice. Everyone should be able to feel safe travelling into and around London. Our officers are there to ensure that is the case and we’d urge anyone who is out on Saturday and feels concerned to speak to us.

Details of the Public Order Act conditions that are in place can be found below. Failing to comply with conditions or encouraging others not to do so is an offence and can lead to arrest.

‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest organised by Stephen Yaxley Lennon (Tommy Robinson)

Section 14 Public Order Act

Anyone preparing to take part in the march must form up in the area shaded on the map below which is Stamford Street.

Section 12 Public Order Act

Anyone participating in the march must follow the agreed route which is shown on the map below. They must not enter the ‘emergency access lane’ on Westminster Bridge which is there to ensure the path of emergency vehicles, such as ambulances getting to the nearby hospital, is not blocked.

Section 14 Public Order Act

Anyone participating in the rally following the march must remain within the red shaded area on the map below which is the southern end of Whitehall.

The stage can only be set up at the point marked with a white square.

The event must conclude by 18:00hrs.

Counter protest organised by Stand Up To Racism

Section 14 Public Order Act

Anyone participating in the protest must form up in the area shown in blue on the map below which is Russell Square.

Section 12 Public Order Act

Anyone participating in the march must follow the agreed route which is shown on the map below.

Section 14 Public Order Act

Anyone participating in the rally following the march must remain in the area shown in red on the map below which is the northern end of Whitehall.

The stage must be located at the point shown with a white box.

The event must conclude by 16:00hrs.

End times are in line with when organisers have told us they expect speeches to have finished which is why there is a difference between the two events.