BISHOPS in London spoke out against “intolerance and division” before the “Unite the Kingdom” march that took place in the city on Saturday.
The march, organised by the far-Right activist Tommy Robinson, was billed as a “free speech festival”. The Metropolitan Police estimated that 110,000 to 150,000 people attended the march, “significantly exceeding the estimates of organisers”.
It was “a very challenging day that saw disorder, violence directed at officers and 26 officers injured”, the Met said. Twenty-four people were arrested for offences that included affray, violent disorder, assaults, and criminal damage. Around 5000 people attended a counter-protest, organised by Stand up to Racism.
Some of the “Unite the Kingdom” marchers carried banners bearing images of Christ and messages such as “Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life”, Premier Christian News reported. A correspondent for Sky News, Tom Cheshire, observed “overt Christian nationalism” at the march. “People carried wooden crosses. One person had a light-up crucifix. When the crowd arrived at Whitehall, they were led from the stage in a chant of ‘Christ is king’. And then a public recital of the Lord’s Prayer shortly after that.”
In a statement issued the day before the march, the Bishop of Edmonton, in the diocese of London, Dr Anderson Jeremiah, and the diocese’s head of racial justice priority, Dr Lisa Adjei, said that they were “deeply concerned”.
“Though framed as a celebration of free speech, it is inextricably linked to voices and movements that have previously contributed to division and racial intolerance,” they said. “This is at odds with everything we, and millions of Londoners, stand for, especially the Diocese of London.
“We affirm that freedom of speech is a vital democratic right, and at the same time pray for a nation where that freedom is exercised not to deepen fear or exclusion, but to foster compassion and unity. Every day, in our churches and on our streets, we see a very different city to the one that the marchers portray. One where people from all cultures, religions, beliefs and classes can work, worship, and live together. We take pride in a city that welcomes everyone. Now and always, we reject intolerance and division in the utmost terms.”
The same day, a statement from Southwark diocese said that its bishops endorsed Dr Jeremiah’s and Ms Adjei’s statement.
“We are deeply concerned that the march will cause fear among minority groups. We wish to reject intolerance and we stand in solidarity with all the people of South London and East Surrey celebrating the rich diversity of our communities as we continue to work for a truly united nation of all faiths and races,” they said.
The Bishop of Dover, the Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, also expressed concerns about the march. She said on Thursday: “While we must continue to champion the right to peaceful protest, I also want to affirm our responsibility to ensure that such expressions do not become platforms for intolerance or aggression. I call on civic leaders, faith communities, and individuals to be courageous advocates for truth, justice, and peace.
“Let us remember that our flourishing as a nation has long depended on the contributions of those who have come to live and work among us. Let us not allow fear to define our response but instead be courageous enough to choose the path of love — just as Jesus commanded: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ (John 13:34).”
Speaking on Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning, the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, referred to the protesters in London who had been “noisily expressing their anger about immigration and the small-boats crisis, their frustration occasionally tipping over into violence”.
He spoke about the difference between “just anger” and “destructive anger”, and said: “I expect that many of those on Saturday’s march would say that their anger is just and that they’re seeking to deepen national unity by honestly naming a problem that they feel has been downplayed.”
He used Moses as an example of somebody who had demonstrated “destructive anger”, by murdering an Egyptian. “The fruit of that anger was bitter: Moses had to flee Egypt, his people suffered, his community was damaged.” Many years later, however, Moses had shown “just anger”, Bishop North said, “when he smashed the tablets that bore the words of the Ten Commandments. That ferocious sign bore fruit in rebuilding a community divided by idolatry and restoring his people’s faith.”
He concluded: “In an era defined increasingly by rage, maybe people need to examine themselves about the fruit of their own anger. Too much destructive anger undermines the values that hold a society together. But the raw energy of an anger that is just means that it can be channelled in constructive ways to build unity and change lives for good.”
The Bishop of Barking, the Rt Revd Lynne Cullens, wrote on X on Monday: “An intentional national dialogue to establish some form of refreshed, contemporary and broad-based understanding of British values, is long overdue.”
