More than 1,600 police officers will be deployed in London today as two rival protests and five Premier League football matches are all set to take place in the capital.
According to the Metropolitan Police, 500 officers have been brought in from other forces, and around 1,000 will be “responsible for ensuring that two demonstrations in central London take place safely”.
A “Unite the Kingdom” march is set to begin at 1pm and head towards Whitehall where a rally will then take place.
Tommy Robinson, also known as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has organised the protest, which he labelled the UK’s biggest free speech festival.
He said thousands are due to attend, posting on social media: “It’s not a time for riots. It’s not a time for violence. It’s a time where you come and you stand proudly for your country.
“This is an imperative message and an important message: we have to control ourselves.”
A counter protest, organised by a group called “Stand Up To Racism”, will take place at the opposite end of Whitehall.
Barriers will be erected between the two protests to reduce the risk of disorder between them.
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A ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march is set to begin at 1pm
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PACommander Clair Haynes, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: “The Met is used to delivering the sort of complex and large-scale policing operation that is required to keep the public safe, and we have a detailed plan to do so on Saturday.”
She added: “The main focus of the operation is on the two protests in central London.
“We will approach them as we do any other protests, policing without fear or favour, ensuring people can exercise their lawful rights, but being robust in dealing with incidents or offences should they occur.”
She continued: “We would ask all those taking part in the protests to be considerate of the communities they are passing through to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.
“Officers will take a firm line on behaviour that is discriminatory or that crosses the line from protest into hate crime.”
Police confirmed they are not using live facial recognition, which was used at the Notting Hill Carnival, in their policing today.
The force said: “We’re using a mobile CCTV van to help monitor the buildup of crowds. Officers have been asked if it’s using ‘live facial recognition’ – we can confirm it is not.”
Derbies will take place between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, and Brentford and Chelsea.
A Stand Up to Racism counter-protest will march from Whitehall
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PAArsenal, Crystal Palace and Fulham also have home games, and the Championship derby between Charlton Athletic and Millwall will be played in the capital as well.
Last Saturday, nearly 900 people were arrested at a protest in London against the ban on Palestine Action.
Some 857 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act for showing support for a proscribed group.
The Met Police confirmed 17 of those arrested were on suspicion of assaulting police officers.
Thirty-three were arrested for other offences.
