Tens of Thousands Join Rival Marches in London

Tens of thousands of protesters joined two rival marches in London on Saturday - the Unite the Kingdom rally organised by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, and a pro-Palestinian demonstration.

More than 4,000 police officers were deployed to the capital to manage a so-called "sterile zone" between the two marches. 

Officers also used drones, police horses and dogs, and had armoured vehicles on standby.

The Metropolitan Police called it one of the most significant policing operations in years, with tens of thousands of football fans also at Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup Final yesterday afternoon.

The force said there were 43 arrests at the two protests, and an additional 22 at the FA Cup Final, as of 19:30 BST.

Protesters attending the Unite the Kingdom march gathered in Kingsway, before heading to Whitehall and a rally in Parliament Square.

Many could be seen waving Union flags, with some wearing "Make England Great Again (Mega)" red hats. Chants of "we want Starmer out" could also be heard.

Those gathered told foreign media they had a wide range of views - including some who wanted to see the end of the current government, and others who felt white people, in particular white working-class people, were being discriminated against in the UK.

Police had put up barriers to block routes between the two protests.

The separate pro-Palestinian march, marking Nakba Day, started in Kensington before heading to Waterloo Place via Piccadilly.

Nakba Day refers to the displacement of Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948-49.

Demonstrators expressed a wide range of views to foreign media, with many describing themselves as both anti-genocide and anti-fascist.

Source: BBC