The Metropolitan Police have banned a hate march from taking place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets organised by the far-right Islamophobic political party UKIP.
Leader of the far-right UK Independence Party (UKIP), Nick Tenconi, called on his followers earlier this month to attend his “crusade through Whitechapel” in east London.
Severe concerns were raised over the march, which was aimed at “reclaiming” London from “the left, the socialists, the communists and the Islamists”. Tenconi has also been filmed performing a Sieg Heil Nazi salute at one of his rallies.
The march was planned to take place on Saturday 25 October, in Whitechapel, an area with a population of 43% Muslims.
The Met Police said in a statement on Tuesday, announcing the ban on X over concerns that it would spark “serious disorder”:
“The prospect of serious disorder has prompted us to intervene to prevent a protest organised by UKIP from taking place in Tower Hamlets on Saturday.
“It was calling for ‘mass deportations’ and had caused significant community concerns.”
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The UKIP demonstration on Saturday was one of many in what was promoted as a “mass deportations tour”, advertised as a march starting at Whitechapel Station, and then later revised to be an assembly in the same area.
Organisers described the demonstration as a “crusade”, which urged supporters to “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists” and “take our country back”.
The event is one of several that were planned across major UK cities, including Liverpool, Newcastle, and Glasgow.
Tower Hamlets Mayor responds to the march
The Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, also advocated for the march to be banned, arguing that “it would have caused significant disruption and intimidation in our local community, and spread fear and prejudice.”
Tower Hamlets has the highest percentage of Muslim residents in England and Wales — just over 40% according to the 2021 Census — prompting concerns that the march would cause significant clashes and tensions.
A large counter-protest movement was also organised by Stand Up To Racism, and various other local groups, aimed at showing peaceful resistance to the far-right agitators.
Mayor Rahman said in a post on X that “we will still hold our peaceful march in Whitechapel on Saturday to celebrate our diversity and unity.”
As it stands, anyone who takes part in the UKIP march and enters the borough of Tower Hamlets will face arrest.
UKIP leader Tenconi responded to the ban, claiming that the Met Police were “caving in to the Islamists” and accused them of “two-tier policing”.
Commander Nick John, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: “Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.
“It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location. This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through east London would cause.
“We have a responsibility to use the powers available to us to take steps to avoid both those outcomes.
“UKIP are free to organise their protest in an alternative location but they will not be holding it in Tower Hamlets.
“Anyone who tries to assemble, in breach of the conditions, or who encourages others to do so, will face arrest. We will still have a sizeable police presence in the area on Saturday to keep the public safe and to intervene to enforce the conditions and deal with any other incidents.”
The UKIP march on Saturday will now start in Knightsbridge and continue to Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park — a place known for its large gatherings of debaters and public speakers.
There has been a recent surge in the organisation of far-right protests across the UK, which started to pick up speed following the Southport riots in July 2024, where disinformation was spread about the perpetrator of the murder of three young girls being a illegal Muslim immigrant.
Tommy Robinson’s “Unite The Kingdom” rally on September 13 – which was attended by over 110,000 people in central London – was regarded as the largest far right protest in British history.
