The huge Unite the Kingdom rally in London led by Tommy Robinson has received mixed reactions from people in the area.
The event, dubbed a ‘free speech festival’, was the biggest of a series of rallies organised by Mr Robinson.
At least 25 people were arrested as small clashes with police broke out.
Paul King, a photographer from Winnersh who attended the event, was critical of the approach of the police.
When asked whether he witnessed any disorder, he said: “There was a bit, the riot coppers were quite hungry for it, they wanted to trouble. If you get anywhere near them, they push you about.
“I saw officers from West Mercia, the Welsh Heddlu, there were police from all over the place.
“I saw about 16 police with firearms, and there were mounted officers as well.
“People were singing away. I’ve never seen so many for a demonstration.
“I was at the poll tax riots, in my own mind, it’s the biggest demonstration in history, it’s got to be, there were flags everywhere, people were singing, it was an enjoyable day.
“I’ve been working since 1981, there was definitely 2 tier policing, those are my thoughts anyway.”
Official sources stated 110,000-150,000 people attended the rally.
But that is understood to have been the capacity for the rally defined in an event licence, rather than the actual numbers.
Therefore, predictions of the crowd size vary widely from 200,000-300,000, and Mr Robinson’s own claim that ‘three million’ people attended.
He also said on stage that Westminster Council had revoked the licence, but the rally was able to go ahead following negotiations with the Met Police. These claims are unconfirmed.
The event faced accusations of being ‘far right’ and ‘fascist’, with a Stand Up to Racism march reportedly attracting 20,000 protesters and TV personality Narinder Kaur.
The Unite the Kingdom rally was formatted in a stage with speakers, with perhaps the biggest speech coming from Elon Musk, who appeared remotely.
The rest of the speakers were a ‘who’s who’ of right-wing journalists and politicians, including Dominic Tarczynski, a Member of the European Parliament from Poland, and Ezra Levant, the Canadian founder of Rebel News and Mr Robinson’s former employer.
Image: Paul King
People travelled from as far away as Oceania, including Australian-Israeli commentator Avi Yemini and people from Destiny church in New Zealand who performed a Maori haka war dance.
Right wing party leaders who were in attendance but were not platformed on stage were Nick Tenconi from UKIP and Paul Golding and Ashlea Simon from Britain First.
Micky (Labour, Whitley), the deputy leader of Reading Borough Council, reposted Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, who said a friend of his went on the rally, and that progressives must “offer a story of renewal”.
Cllr Leng added that he knew five people who attended that “do not fit the stereotype” portrayed.
Replying, cllr Dave McElroy (Green, Redlands), a candidate for the Reading Central constituency, accused Mr Lewis and cllr Leng of “playing with fire” but eventually invited cllr Leng for a pint to discuss the matter civilly.
In a column in the Daily Express, Sir John Redwood, the former Conservative MP for Wokingham, wrote that the government is right to condemn the handful that got involved in fights with police, but should also genuinely address the concerns peaceful demonstrators raised.
