Tens of thousands join rival marches in London

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00][cheering] >> The streets of the capital crammed once again with the sights and sounds of protest.

[00:00:09]Those who marched for their version of patriotism and not far away those who followed the cause of the Palestinian people.

[00:00:23]Twin tests, the biggest faced by London's police in years.

[00:00:30]Who promised to crack down on hate speech in all its forms. In all, there have been more than 30 arrests for a variety of offenses. Apparently not taking my mask off even though my mask had been off for about 30 seconds before I was arrested. For a simple slogan you can get arrested. Where's the justice in that? Where's the freedom in that?

[00:00:49]Nothing against any Jew person in London or the United Kingdom.

[00:00:56]But I'm an anti-Zionist.

[00:00:59]I'm anti-Israel.

[00:01:01]And [music] for what they're doing to the people in Gaza.

[00:01:05]A few streets away under the watchful eye of police helicopters and drones and scanned by facial recognition technology as they arrived.

[00:01:16]Far right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon He didn't back down. better known as Tommy Robinson, brought tens of thousands of his supporters to the heart of Westminster.

[00:01:27]What London is witnessing today is a vivid illustration of this country's divisions and fractures. Two marches, diametrically opposed camps, that share only one piece of common ground. An utter frustration and sometimes contempt for politics as usual. I'm here today flying the flag.

[00:01:50]It's not racist to want to support your country, keep your identity. England's a great country and we we want to be free.

[00:01:58]Critics of this march say that the presence of so many people here flying the Union flag is intimidatory. Not intimidating whatsoever.

[00:02:07]I've been I've been down the street with my Union Jack flag. No no problem whatsoever.

[00:02:13]It's taken 4,000 police officers to keep the two sides apart. In the end, the numbers marching were lower than some predicted, but it's been a day when the limits to free speech have again been tested. John Ray, ITV News, Central London.