Britain will never surrender to far-right protesters who use flag as cover for violence, says Keir Starmer

A day after over a lakh protesters stormed the streets of London against the UK government’s immigration policy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday stood firm, declaring that Britain would “never surrender” to far-right demonstrators who, he said, were using the national flag as a cover for violence, as he condemned the attacks on law enforcement officers.

Going a step further, Starmer said the red-and-white English flag “represents our diverse country,” adding that he would not tolerate citizens being targeted for their “background or the colour of their skin,” The Guardian reported.

More than 100,000 people marched through central London in a “Unite the Kingdom” rally spearheaded by far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Organisers billed the event as a free speech protest, and it drew one of the largest right-wing crowds Britain has seen in years.

Pressed by his MPs and anti-fascist groups to speak out against Robinson’s rhetoric, Starmer broke his silence on the march, which saw the lakh-strong far-right group clash with police and a 5,000-strong counter-march organised by Stand Up To Racism in the streets of London.

In a statement to The Guardian, Starmer said that while “people have a right to peaceful protest,” they cannot take the law into their own hands by intimidating others based on their colour or background or by attacking officers on duty.

“Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division,” he told The Guardian.

The rally was organised amid a period of heightened debate in the UK over immigration, particularly concerning migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. Supporters held signs reading, “Stop the boats,” “Send them home,” and “Enough is enough, save our children.”

The largely white crowd sang “Keir Starmer’s a wanker” to the tune of Seven Nation Army and broke into chants of “Tommy,” “Whose street? Our street,” and “England.”

The organisers and speakers, including Robinson and Elon Musk, employed rhetoric centred on claims of a “great replacement” of European people and the destruction of Britain due to what they described as “uncontrolled migration”.

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