British Muslim civil society groups and opposition politicians are calling on the Metropolitan Police to investigate anti-Muslim statements made at the Unite the Kingdom rally in central London on Saturday, May 16, after the government drew criticism for not condemning remarks made from the stage. An estimated 60,000 people attended the event, organised by Tommy Robinson, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Robinson was filmed saying “it’s time for many Muslims to leave this country.”
Robinson, who holds multiple criminal convictions for offences including violence, fraud and contempt of court, also told the crowd he “would stop Islam” if he ran the country and called for “remigration,” according to Middle East Eye. He said he would deploy the military to remove migrants from government-provided hotels and told thousands gathered in the capital to prepare for the “battle of Britain,” according to WION News.
Independent Member of Parliament Ayoub Khan told Middle East Eye: “This was not ‘controversial rhetoric’ or heated political debate. It was open anti-Muslim agitation broadcast from a public stage: calls to remove Islam from positions of authority, demands for Muslims to leave the country, and deliberate theatrical mockery of Muslims before a cheering crowd.”
Khan added: “Any government that fails to respond decisively to such rhetoric is failing in its basic duty to protect equal citizenship and public safety. Ministers cannot claim to oppose extremism while remaining silent as an entire minority community is demonised in plain sight.”
Robinson was not the only speaker to make anti-Muslim remarks. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull — who uses the name Posie Parker and leads a small political party called the Party of Women — told the crowd from the stage: “It is not too late to get Islam out of every single official office in this country… we have to remove Islam from every single place of authority,” according to Middle East Eye.
Three members of the French anti-Islam group Collectif Nemesis also appeared on stage wearing burqas in what Muslim groups described as a staged mockery of Muslim women. Baroness Shaista Gohir, a peer and Chief Executive Officer of the Muslim Women’s Network UK, said: “It was deliberate humiliation of Muslim women and a public display of anti-Muslim hostility aimed at dehumanising visibly Muslim women and reducing their religious dress to a source of ridicule and contempt.” She added that such actions “have a direct and harmful impact on the safety and well-being of Muslim women.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed 20 arrests at the march, nine of them for alleged hate crimes. None of the arrested individuals were speakers at the rally.
The Muslim Council of Britain stated that Robinson’s comments were “not political speech — they are incitement.” The MCB posed a direct challenge to authorities, political leaders, and broadcasters: “Why is this rhetoric tolerated and even defended when it comes to Muslims, when the equivalent, directed at any other group, would rightly be met with prosecution, condemnation, and unequivocal political consequence?” The MCB formally called on the Metropolitan Police to investigate the statements as speeches inciting religious hatred. Middle East Eye said it had put the request to the Metropolitan Police for comment.
The Muslim Engagement and Development Initiative, known as Mend, separately condemned what it called “incitement to religious hatred and violence towards Muslims” and said it would file a formal request to the Metropolitan Police to obtain the force’s legal assessment of why the rhetoric was not deemed sufficient grounds for arrest.
Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed told Middle East Eye that speakers at the rally “were able to call for an exclusion of Muslims from public life, suggested that Muslims should leave this country, and openly mocked Muslim women’s choice of dress with no immediate condemnation from the government.” He added: “Political leaders have a responsibility to not just speak out but take meaningful action clearly and consistently against all forms of hatred, including anti-Muslim bigotry.”
The government’s response before the rally stood in contrast to its silence after it. Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticised the march in advance, telling LBC: “I will not let the likes of Tommy Robinson use their hate to drag our country backwards.” The government also announced it had barred 11 “foreign far-right agitators” from entering the UK ahead of the event, including Colombian-American anti-Muslim campaigner Valentina Gomez. No comparable government statement condemning the remarks made on the day had been issued by the time of publication, according to Middle East Eye.
The rally took place on the same day as a pro-Palestine Nakba Day march in London. At that demonstration, the Guardian reported three separate arrests: one for holding a sign reading “Globalise the intifada” — repeating that slogan at protests was made a criminal offence — one for a sign reading “We will not surrender, victory or martyrdom,” and one for displaying support for Palestine Action, which the government banned as a terrorist organisation last year.
Background:
Tommy Robinson, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a British far-right activist with a history of criminal convictions. He has previously been imprisoned for contempt of court, fraud and violence-related offences. The Unite the Kingdom rally on May 16 was one of the largest far-right demonstrations held in central London in recent years. The Muslim Council of Britain is the UK’s largest Muslim representative body. Mend is a British Muslim civic organisation that engages with political and media institutions. The Collectif Nemesis is a French group that describes itself as identitarian and opposes migration and Islam in Europe.
What Happens Next:
The Muslim Council of Britain has formally asked the Metropolitan Police to open an investigation into speeches made at the rally. Mend has said it will submit a separate request to the Metropolitan Police for the force’s legal assessment of the remarks. Middle East Eye stated it had contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment, and a response is awaited. No government minister had publicly addressed the specific content of the speeches by the time this article was published.
