https://arab.news/8vjxc
- Right-wing populist party planned to stage ‘mass deportations’ protest in Tower Hamlets
- Metropolitan Police said it banned event over ‘concerns of serious disorder’
LONDON: Police in London have banned a right-wing populist party from staging a rally calling for “mass deportations” in an area with a large Muslim population.
The UK Independence Party, known as UKIP, had planned to hold the event in Whitechapel on Saturday, telling supporters to “reclaim the area from Islamists.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday it had banned the event from taking place anywhere in the Tower Hamlets borough over “concerns of serious disorder.”
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.”
The rally was part of a series of events around the UK promoted by UKIP as a “mass deportations tour.”
The UK has seen a surge in support for populist anti-immigration parties including Reform UK, which holds a substantial lead in the polls.
Reform’s leader Nigel Farage was previously the head of UKIP, when the party played a key role in the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Since then UKIP has become increasingly right-wing and Islamophobic, describing the planned rally in London as a “crusade.”
Police said a large counter protest was also expected, organized by Stand Up To Racism and other groups.
The Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman said the UKIP rally would have “spread fear and prejudice” and caused “significant disruption and intimidation in our local community.”
UKIP said it would move the march to another area of London, and added that police had “caved into the Islamists.”