Extra 4,000 officers in London as police brace for far-right and pro-Palestine marches – live | London

Keir Starmer described the far-right activist known as Tommy Robinson and others who held a massive rally in London today as “individuals with a long record of violence and extremism”.

As tens of thousands of people began their journey into the city today ahead of the self-styled Unite the Kingdom (UTK) march, the prime minister used an article published on the subject. LBC radio website to once again condemn Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

“Their aim is to inflame and divide. And they are seeking the support of far-right agitators around the world to achieve this,” wrote Starmer, whose government prevented 11 people, including a Polish far-right MP, from coming to the UK before the event.

“I refuse to stand by and allow this poison to be imported into the UK,” he added.

On Friday, it emerged that another of those banned from coming to Britain was Ezra Levant, a long-time Canadian supporter of Robinson who was involved in the activist reinventing himself as an online influencer and distinctive journalist.

Starmer also used the same article to issue a warning to those attending the pro-Palestinian Nakba Day rally, which is being held on a different route in London today.

Prosecutors were told to consider whether protest signs, banners and slogans displayed on social media amounted to the crime of inciting hatred during rallies.

The new guidance, issued ahead of what police described as an “unprecedented” security operation, calls on prosecutors to consider whether slogans, symbols or chants could influence online audiences if filmed and shared.

Starmer wrote: “The cause of the Palestinian state is just and is recognized by this government, as well as that of a safe and secure Israel.

“But it is not difficult to find individuals at marches supporting this cause who are misusing it to spread antisemitism and intimidate Jewish communities. And this is happening against a backdrop of a deeply worrying increase in antisemitic incidents, including terrorist attacks. The result is that British Jews do not feel safe on their own streets.”