Suella Braverman accused of fuelling far-right violence near Cenotaph

Suella Braverman has been accused of fuelling far-right violence after supporters of the activist Tommy Robinson and football hooligans broke through police lines just moments before the two-minute silence on Armistice Day.

The counterprotesters gathered in central London after the home secretary branded pro-Palestinian demonstrators “hate marchers” and “Islamists” who were intending to use Armistice Day to dominate the streets of London.

On Saturday, several skirmishes broke out between a large group of far-right supporters from around 10am, with the group breaking through police lines near Whitehall before being dispersed by officers wearing riot gear.

A large group, who were chanting “You’re not English any more” at the police, were “kettled” around St Stephen’s Tavern, opposite Big Ben. Another group was dispersed by officers near Embankment station, and a third was confronted by officers in Chinatown.

Scotland Yard said that by 3pm 82 people had been arrested in Pimlico, central London, to prevent a breach of the peace.

“They’re part of a large group of counterprotesters we have been monitoring who have tried to reach the main protest march. We will continue to take action to avoid the disorder that would likely take place if that happened.”

Earlier, two people were arrested near Whitehall, one man on suspicion of possession of a knife and another for possession of a baton.

The Guardian witnessed a group of 10 masked people wearing Chelsea football club badges and chanting Islamophobic slogans and “English till I die” on Whitehall, just yards from the Cenotaph.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, blamed Suella Braverman for the clashes.

He tweeted: “The scenes of disorder we witnessed by the far-right at the Cenotaph are a direct result of the Home Secretary’s words. The police’s job has been made much harder.

“The Met have my full support to take action against anyone found spreading hate and breaking the law.”

Humza Yousaf, the first minister of Scotland, said the far right had been emboldened by Braverman and said: “She must resign.”

Nick Lowles, the chief executive of the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate said: “Over 2,000 far-right activists and football hooligans have descended on London today – fuelled by the extreme rhetoric of the home secretary.

“This violent group were able to quickly climb over police fencing and violently push through police lines showing the complete lack of preparation from the Met.

“These protests do not exist in a vacuum. We’ve seen the far right growing in numbers and confidence, aided by the radical right fringes of this government.”

Responding to the allegations, a Conservative source said the skirmishes proved Braverman was right to raise concerns about demonstrations held on Armistice Day.

“Suella Braverman wanted the police to have the right to instantly arrest any far-right protester disrupting Armistice Day. Over the last few days, there has been a huge row in which her view that these protests risked leading to serious disorder was derided,” the source said.

The Met police posted on X, formerly Twitter: “While the two minutes’ silence was marked respectfully and without incident on Whitehall, officers have faced aggression from counterprotesters who are in the area in significant numbers.”

The force said it would “use all the powers and tactics available to us to prevent” the counterprotesters from confronting the pro-Palestine march.

Thousands of people started marching from Park Lane near Hyde Park after midday as part of the rally calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

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Some were heard chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a controversial slogan that Braverman and senior Labour figures have warned is offensive and in effect calls for the destruction of Israel. The majority were chanting “Ceasefire now” and “We are all Palestinians”.

Other chants included “In our thousands, in our millions we are all Palestinians”, and people were shouting “Rishi Sunak’s a wasteman” and “Rishi Sunak, shame on you. Keir Starmer, shame on you.”

People of all ages and backgrounds were taking part in the protest. Parents could be seen with children and babies in buggies, and there were many older people.

Thousands of people march in London for Israel-Gaza ceasefire – video

Rachel Solnick, 37, a PhD student on the march, said: “I feel really appalled by how some of the framing around liberation for Palestine has been as if there’s an opposition, or some kind of binary between Jewish safety and Palestinian safety. I absolutely disagree with that framing.

“I think that loads of us who have Jewish ancestry feel really strongly that what is taking place in Palestine is ethnic cleansing and we don’t want it to happen in our names. It feels so important to gather here in numbers, as Jews and as members of the British public in general, to counter that narrative.”

Another, Matt Storey, said: “I’m so frustrated with our government not taking a firm line on it or making an effort to stop it. It’s despicable. My children are part-Palestinian so I’m also here for them. There are lots of children dying over there.”

The march was planned to end at the US embassy in Vauxhall, south of the River Thames.

The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, called for calm, with a veiled swipe at Braverman for inflaming tensions in the days before the protests.

Cooper tweeted: “Some disgraceful scenes this morning. We urge everyone to respect the police & each other & exercise calm.

“Everyone must reflect on the impact of their words & actions. It is the responsibility of all of us to bring people together over this weekend not divide and inflame.”

Robinson, the English Defence League founder, was among a number of far-right activists who used Braverman’s words to call for supporters to gather for a counterprotest to “defend” the Cenotaph, even though the main rally route avoided the Whitehall area.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, joined the British National party in the mid-2000s. He left the group in 2013 and left the UK in 2020 to live in Spain. He has been convicted in the UK for fraud, stalking, assault, using someone else’s passport, using threatening behaviour and contempt of court.