Maybe maths isn’t his strong point? The man formerly known as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon publicly estimated that upwards of three million protesters turned up to the ‘Unite The Kingdom’ rally on Saturday – missing the actual total given by authorities by about 2.89 million.
How many people attended the Unite The Kingdom rally?
Though the demonstration was large in scale, and represents one of the biggest right-wing gatherings in British history, attempts to trump-up the official figures were extinguished by the Met Police, whose revised figures had the protest numbers nearer to 110,000.
This has caused some consternation among those in attendance, claiming that the crowd size was higher. Other estimates place the number at nearer to 150,000. Either way, if Tommy Robinson was expecting about one in 25 Brits to be at this rally, he was gravely mistaken.
The figures of 110,000 to 150,000 would mean that the convicted football hooligan and ex-EDL leader only saw 3% to 5% of his final estimate turn up. Though support has swelled significantly for far-right causes in recent years, the protests pale in comparison to other high-profile ones, such as the Rejoin EU marches.
Tommy Robinson led march results in dozens of injuries to police officers
Violence and thuggery was prevalent throughout the protests, and ugly scenes characterised much of the day. An estimated 26 police officers were injured – four seriously – with casualties ranging from head injuries and concussions, to prolapsed discs and broken noses.
There were also accounts of the protesters crossing into ‘sterile areas’ and trying to fight with counter-protesters, somewhat flying in the face of claims that this was all meant to be a festival of free speech. In a statement issued by the Metropolitan Police, the level of violence was labelled ‘unacceptable’.
“Many protesters came here intent on violence, confronting officers and engaging in physical violence, which was wholly unacceptable. The 25 arrests we have made so far are just the start, and those identified in the disorder can expect to face robust police action soon.”
“We are hugely grateful to the officers who were deployed in Central London today, to those on duty in all 32 boroughs responding to 999 calls, and the 500 colleagues from across the country who stood alongside us in some very challenging circumstances.” | Met Police