Number is
stark contrast with estimated 110,000 at far-right activist’s ‘unite the
kingdom’ rally in September
Nadeem
Badshah
Sat 13
Dec 2025 20.51 GMT
The
far-right activist Tommy Robinson led a carol concert to “put the Christ back
into Christmas” on Saturday in an event that had a huge drop-off in attendance
from his last rally in London.
The
Metropolitan police said about 1,000 people attended the event at its peak, in
stark contrast to the estimated 110,000 who turned up to Robinson’s “unite the
kingdom” rally in September.
Saturday’s
event was kept away from a counter-protest organised by Stand Up to Racism in
central London.
Stand Up
to Racism wrote on X: “Robinson’s event got nowhere near the big numbers he
predicted today. While there is absolutely no room for complacency, it shows
that #TommyRobinson’s momentum can be broken.
“Now
let’s go all out to build a massive #Together against the far right demo on
Saturday 28 March.”
Robinson,
whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, told the crowd he used to “hate the
church” but met a pastor in prison who taught him about the Bible.
Hymn
sheets were handed out to the crowd and a woman walked around selling St
George’s flags and Santa hats.
Before
the event, the Church of England released a video on its YouTube channel in
which people ranging from the archbishop of York to schoolchildren spoke about
the “joy, love and hope” of Christmas.
The
message is “a simple reminder that Christmas belongs to all of us, and everyone
is welcome to celebrate”, the Church of England said.
Several
leaders spoke out against the dangers of Christian nationalism and the
appropriation of Christian symbols to bolster the anti-migrant views of
Robinson and his supporters.
Rowan
Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, warned of the potential
“weaponisation” of events, and said the Church of England must be “absolutely
clear” that the true Christian message was one of compassion and welcome to
all.
Adam
Slonecki, the Met commander who was in charge of the policing operation, said:
“Every weekend in London is busy but that is especially the case at this time
of year when the transport network, shops and public spaces will see much
higher footfall.
“In that
context, it is particularly important that we ensure that where groups are
exercising their lawful right to protest, we use the powers available to us to
ensure those protests don’t cause serious disruption to the many other people –
Londoners and visitors alike – going about their lives.”
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