Winston Churchill’s statue and the Cenotaph are guarded by ring of metal forward of protests at the moment by Tommy Robinson’s followers and counter-demonstrators on the streets of London

Winston Churchill’s statue and the Cenotaph are being guarded by a ring of steel and London braces for Tommy Robinson‘s followers and counter-protesters to descend on the capital.

The English Defence League founder, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, will himself not be able to attend his own planned march after he was remanded into custody by police yesterday.

The far-right central London rally is set to be met with counter protesters organised by Stand Up to Racism, while elsewhere in the city demonstrators will march with Chris Kaba‘s family, remembering people killed by police officers.

Pictures of London this morning showed key landmarks close to the routes ringed with metal barriers – including the Cenotaph and the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square.

In July, violent thugs surrounded the monuments as mobs threw flares and chanted ‘we want our country back’ in a wave of riots following the tragic Southport stabbings. 

Today, London will be hit by: 

• Tommy Robinson supporters who will march from Victoria station to the southern end of Whitehall in a ‘day of patriotism’ 
• Stand Up to Racism counter-protesters who will march from Regent Street to the north end of Whitehall as they urge their supporters to “take to the streets” in a “massive anti-fascist demonstration”  
• The United Families and Friends’ 25th annual rally, which will meet at Trafalgar Square and be joined by the family of killed gang member Chris Kaba, after Sergeant Martyn Blake was found not guilty of murder for his death. 

The Met said there will be a ‘significant police presence’ to ensure the two sides of the protest are kept apart, with officers from forces across the country being shipped in to keep order.

The protest is due to march from Victoria station to the southern end of Whitehall, while the counter-protest will begin at Regent Street St James’s and finish at the north end of Whitehall. The Met said static rallies are expected at the end of both marches.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams, who is leading the policing operation, said: ‘We are well prepared for what is set to be a busy day in the centre of London.

‘Our role is to ensure that those attending the various events can do so safely and that they can exercise their right to lawful protest.

‘We will have significant resources in place to respond to any incidents, to deal decisively with any offences, and to keep disruption to other members of the public and businesses to a minimum.

‘We know that when groups with opposing views come together it can lead to conflict and disorder, and a key part of our role is ensuring that does not happen.

‘We have used Public Order Act conditions to ensure that those involved stick to routes and assembly areas that are sufficiently far apart. Officers will be monitoring closely to ensure that conditions are adhered to.’

Robinson, 41, is accused of being in contempt of court after the airing of a film at a protest in Trafalgar Square in July.

He attended Folkestone police station on Friday where he was separately charged with failing to provide his mobile phone access code to police under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, Kent Police said.

Robinson is due to appear at Woolwich Crown Court on Monday for a two-day hearing concerning allegations that he breached a 2021 High Court order barring him from repeating libellous allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him.

The far-right firebrand had been met by crowds of supporters at the police station who embraced him ahead of a march for thousands of people in London tomorrow.

It is understood the airing of a film, titled Silenced, at the Trafalgar Square demonstration is one of six actions alleged to have breached the injunction between June and July.

His supporters are due to hold a demonstration on Saturday, with his account saying: ‘Demo day has arrived, sadly without Tommy in attendance, however we’d like to reiterate his message, to stay calm, don’t react to provocation, we’re here not only for him, but most importantly to pay respects to Peter Lynch, and support the families of the political prisoners. 

‘No face coverings, we want to see those smiles, flags, noise and a day of patriotism.’

Stand Up to Racism are set to gather at 11.30am in Picadilly Circus, before marching against Robinson’s crowd.

Posting on social media, they said: ‘Today is the day. Time to stand up against racism and the far right. Be there.’

Demonstrators on both marches must have dispersed by 6pm. 

The United Families and Friends 25th annual rally is set to meet at Trafalgar Square, protesting for ‘justice’ for people who have been killed by police.

They will be joined by the family of Chris Kaba, who was shot through the windscreen of an Audi Q8 as he tried to ram his way past police cars in Streatham, South London.

Sergeant Martyn Blake was found not guilty of his murder at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Following the verdict, it was revealed on Tuesday that 24-year-old Mr Kaba was a ‘core member’ of one of London’s most dangerous criminal gangs and was allegedly directly linked to two shootings in the six days before he was shot dead by police.

Sergeant Blake is now living in hiding, fearing for his life and his family after a £10,000 bounty was offered in revenge for Mr Kaba’s death to anyone prepared to kill him.

It is understood that Robinson will be held in custody in Folkestone until his court hearing on Monday.

He was released on unconditional bail in July and subsequently left the country, with Adam Payter, representing the Solicitor General, telling the High Court there ‘was nothing to prevent him from doing so’.

Mr Justice Johnson issued a warrant for Robinson’s arrest but ordered that it not be carried out ‘until early October’ to allow Robinson time to indicate that he would attend the next hearing voluntarily or to apply to ‘set aside’ the warrant.

Robinson posted a video of himself arriving at Luton Airport on October 20 and said he was surprised he had not been arrested.

He applied to set aside the warrant but his application was dismissed by Mr Justice Johnson on Friday.

Kent Police said Robinson was separately charged with an offence under the Terrorism Act, and he was bailed in relation to that matter.

It follows his arrest in July at a port in Kent where he was accused of ‘frustration’ of police counter-terrorism powers.

He has been charged under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 after allegedly failing to provide his mobile phone access code to officers at the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone.

Under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, police are allowed to stop anyone passing through a UK port ‘to determine whether they may be involved or concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism’.

The person who is detained can be held for up to six hours, is legally obliged to answer questions and must provide the password or access number for electronic devices, or be held to have committed a criminal offence if they refuse.

Robinson said he objected to a request from police for the number to his phone because there was privileged information on the device relating to an ongoing High Court case.