London Deploys 4,000 Officers as Nakba Day and Far-Right Marches Converge
Tens of thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday, May 16, as a Nakba Day pro-Palestinian rally and a far-right Unite the Kingdom demonstration took place simultaneously, prompting what the Metropolitan Police described as an unprecedented public order operation.
Police estimated around 50,000 people would attend the Unite the Kingdom march and 30,000 the pro-Palestinian Nakba Day rally. The Metropolitan Police deployed over 4,000 officers to police the two marches, keeping protesters on separate routes. ITV Newsmiddleeasteye
By 1pm, the Met confirmed 11 people had been arrested for a variety of offences across both events. ITV News
Two Marches, Two Routes
The Unite the Kingdom protest formed up in Kingsway before heading to Whitehall via Aldwych and the Strand, with a stage set up in Parliament Square for a rally. The Nakba 78 rally, which had applied to march to Trafalgar Square but was denied permission, walked from Kensington to Pall Mall instead. Metropolitan Policemiddleeasteye
The route decision became a source of friction before the marches even began. Palestine Solidarity Campaign deputy director Peter Leary told The National that it was “disgraceful on the part of the police to have allocated Tommy Robinson and his supporters” the preferred route, adding that the Nakba march is “a long-standing multi-generational event that includes elderly Nakba survivors.” The National
Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman pushed back on the framing, saying “we haven’t given over London to either march” and that police would “keep those marches safe” and “police without fear or favour.” The National
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by Tommy Robinson, posted on X on Saturday morning, writing: “Today, we Unite The Kingdom and the West in the greatest patriotic display the world has ever seen.” ITV News
Chants of “we want Starmer out” were heard on Kingsway from those attending the Unite the Kingdom march. ITV News
Police Powers and Facial Recognition
At both marches, police were granted extra powers to stop and search individuals without suspicion that an offence had been committed. middleeasteye
The Met also announced that live facial recognition technology would be used for the first time during a public order policing operation, though not on the official march routes themselves. Armoured vehicles, police horses, dogs, drones and helicopters were also deployed alongside officers. middleeasteyeITV News
Harman set out the policing threshold in clear terms. Speaking on Wednesday, he said officers were “committed to taking a more assertive approach to chanting and the displaying of phrases on placards or banners that incite hatred or indicate support for terrorism or other forms of extremism,” adding: “In recent months, we’ve arrested and charged people for calling for intifada at protests and a number of those cases are going through the courts.” middleeasteye
The total policing bill for Saturday was estimated at £4.5 million. The National
Political Context
The Nakba 78 protest was the first major pro-Palestinian march since Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on April 30 for the prosecution of people who chant the phrase “globalise the intifada.” Starmer made his remarks in the wake of an attack in Golders Green, north London, on April 29, in which two Jewish men and one Muslim man were stabbed. The attacker did not use the phrase. Starmer said: “If you stand alongside people who say globalise the intifada, you are calling for terrorism against Jews.” middleeasteyemiddleeasteye
On Thursday, more than 50 prominent British Palestinians and Arabs signed a joint statement calling on Starmer to ensure their communities received “equal protection” from hate crimes during Saturday’s protest. The statement said: “It is painful to feel that our fears are treated as secondary, or worse, that our peaceful commemoration is viewed only as a policing problem.” middleeasteye
A series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in London also preceded the marches, with responsibility claimed by an Iranian front group — an episode that deepened communal tensions ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations. The National
Background
The Nakba Day march is an annual demonstration organised by a coalition of groups including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, commemorating the expulsion of more than 750,000 Palestinians and the killing of over 13,000 others by Zionist militias during the creation of Israel in 1948. Since October 2023, more than 33 large protests have been organised by the groups that make up the Palestine Coalition, and the Met has had to intervene to change routes at 21 of them. The previous Unite the Kingdom protest, held in September 2025, drew more than 150,000 attendees and ended with far-right protesters attacking police and chanting anti-Muslim slogans, leading to 23 arrests. More than 50 suspects from that September event remained unidentified and outstanding at the time of the May 16 marches. middleeasteye + 3
What Happens Next
Speeches at the Nakba 78 assembly were required to conclude by 5pm, with the full assembly ordered to disperse by 5:30pm. The Met said arrests made on Saturday will be investigated, as with those from the September 2025 rally. Organisers of the Nakba march were also bound by a police condition that all content broadcast at the assembly — including speeches and videos — must not include material likely to stir up racial or religious hatred under law. Further charges stemming from the intifada-related arrests mentioned by Harman are expected to continue moving through the courts in the coming months. Metropolitan PoliceMetropolitan Police
