Masked Muslim protesters vow to ‘defend our community’ as UKIP march moved to central London

A group of masked Muslim protesters took to the streets of east London today, vowing to “stand firm” and remain “ready to defend our community” in response to a planned United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) protest.

Dozens of young men dressed in black and wearing balaclavas marched through Whitehall as part of a counter-demonstration. Palestinian and Bangladeshi flags were waved, and photos showed protesters pausing to pray in the street.

In one video, a man speaking through a megaphone urged the crowd to “stand firm” and be prepared to “defend our community” from protesters.

“They came specifically targeting Islam. They said we are coming on a crusade, they said we need to take back our streets,” the masked man declared.

“We stand firm to let them know that if you come then we will stand firm and we will be ready to defend our elders, to defend our women and to defend our community.

“We have never once said we were going on crusades or going into your areas to cause you problems.

“You are coming into our homes and you want to cause us problems. What is wrong with us standing up?

“Today is a day we unite,” he said to the crowd gathered.

The UKIP protest, originally planned for Whitehall under slogans such as “take our country back” and “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists,” was restricted by the Metropolitan Police amid fears of disorder in Tower Hamlets, one of the UK’s largest Muslim communities.

Instead, UKIP supporters gathered in central London on Saturday afternoon, assembling outside the London Oratory before marching toward Marble Arch.

Protesters, marching under a purple banner which read ‘Islamist invaders not welcome in Britain’, could be heard chanting “save our nation, remigration” and “tell the nation, deportations” as they walked up Park Lane.
One protester shouted “this is a Christian land and it’s going to stay like that”, through a megaphone.

Four counter-protesters were arrested at the march, Met Police said.

The protesters were arrested after appearing along a route designated for the UKIP march, in breach of conditions put in place by the force.

The counter-protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) and other local groups, amassed from 12pm in Whitechapel.

UKIP leader Nick Tenconi told protesters: “We want the illegals gone, we want the communists gone”.

On Tuesday, Metropolitan Police blocked a planned anti-migrant march from taking place in an east London borough this weekend, citing concerns it could spark “serious disorder”.

In a statement, the Met said the decision to ban the event was made in the interest of public safety and to prevent disorder from breaking out.

Public Order Act conditions were imposed, meaning UKIP cannot hold their protest in Whitechapel or anywhere else in the borough of Tower Hamlets.

Anyone taking part in the UKIP march who entered the borough of Tower Hamlets faced arrest.

Counter-protesters were told to continue their demonstration as planned in Whitechapel.

Earlier this month, Tower Hamlets Council passed a motion to “stand up to the far right”, pledging to “reject” the presence of far-right agitators from outside the borough who come to “target” local communities during the protests.

Commander Nick John said: “Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.

“It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location. This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through east London would cause.

“We have a responsibility to use the powers available to us to take steps to avoid both those outcomes.

“UKIP are free to organise their protest in an alternative location but they will not be holding it in Tower Hamlets.

“Anyone who tries to assemble, in breach of the conditions, or who encourages others to do so, will face arrest. We will still have a sizeable police presence in the area on Saturday to keep the public safe and to intervene to enforce the conditions and deal with any other incidents.”