Clashes in London as 150,000 join far-right rally against immigration

Some 5,000 rivals gather at White Hall

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More than 110,000 people protesting against immigration have marched through the United Kingdom's capital, London, in one of the country's biggest right-wing demonstrations, with some protesters clashing with the police and wounding at least 26 officers, Al Jazeera reported yesterday (14).

The violence at the "United Kingdom" march on Saturday came as police tried to keep the right-wing protesters apart from a group of some 5,000 rival demonstrators gathered at White Hall, in central London.

London's Metropolitan Police said the march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, drew an estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people, far surpassing expectations.

The police force said its officers faced "unacceptable violence" from some of the protesters and that four of them sustained serious injuries, among them broken teeth, a possible broken nose, a concussion, a prolapsed disc and a head injury.

"There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence," Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said in a statement.

"They confronted officers, engaging in physical and verbal abuse and making a determined effort to breach cordons in place to keep everyone safe."