Tommy Robinson’s London ‘Christmas service’ draws about 1,000 people | Tommy Robinson
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson organized a carol concert on Saturday in a bid to “put Jesus back into Christmas” at the event, which has seen a huge drop in attendance since his last rally in London.
The Metropolitan police said around 1,000 people attended the event at its peak, in stark contrast to the estimated 110,000 who attended Robinson’s “unite the kingdom” rally in September.
Saturday’s event was kept away from a counter protest organized by Stand Up to Racism in central London.
Stand Up to Racism
“Now let’s do our best to make a massive #Together against the far-right demo on Saturday, March 28.”
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, told the crowd that he “hated the church” but met a priest in prison who taught him the Bible.
Carols were passed out to the crowd and a woman went around selling St George’s flags and Santa hats.
Ahead of the event, the Church of England released a video on its YouTube channel in which people from the archbishop of York to school children spoke about the “joy, love and hope” of Christmas.
The Church of England said the message was “a simple reminder that Christmas belongs to us all and everyone is invited to celebrate”.
Many leaders spoke out against the dangers of Christian nationalism and the use of Christian symbols to support the anti-immigrant views of Robinson and his supporters.
Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, warned of the potential “weaponisation” of the incidents and said the Church of England must be “absolutely clear” that the true Christian message is one of compassion and welcome to all.
Adam Slonecki, the Met commander in charge of the police operation, said: “Every weekend is busy in London, but this is especially true at this time of year when the transport network, shops and public spaces will see many more visitors.
“In this context, it is particularly important that where groups exercise their legal right to protest, we ensure that we use the powers available to us to ensure that these protests do not cause serious disruption to many other people going about their lives – both Londoners and visitors.”
