Tag: Tommy Robinson

UK and US Move to Bolster Financial Ties in Advance of Trump Visit
U.S. President Donald Trump, centre right, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Monday, July 28, 2025. © Jane Barlow/Pool Photo via AP, file
Donald Trump flies into Britain on Tuesday evening for a three-day state visit, with the US and UK promising to boost financial ties, including by exploring closer alignment of their capital markets.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wants to use Trump’s visit to showcase Britain as an inward investment hotspot, with US private equity company Blackstone pledging to invest £100bn in British assets over the next decade. US officials said there would be at least $10bn of investment deals in the technology sector, an agreement on nuclear co-operation and an exploration of “how the deep connections between our leading financial hubs can be maintained into the future”. But Trump’s arrival could throw up problems for Starmer.
The US president is unpopular in Britain and his schedule has been designed to shield him from any public or political protest. Trump will not address the UK parliament and is expected to travel by helicopter from the US ambassador’s residence in London to Windsor Castle and later to Starmer’s country retreat at Chequers. Trump has not yet finalised a deal, agreed with Starmer in May, to exempt British steel exports from US tariffs, although they do benefit from lower 25 per cent levies compared with the 50 per cent applied to other countries.
British officials were in Washington on Monday holding urgent talks with US trade officials to try to conclude a deal that would exempt Scotch whisky from a 10 per cent tariff imposed on other UK exports.
A senior US official said the White House was not “tracking” any announcement to reduce US tariffs on whisky, in a sign that an agreement was unlikely. But the official suggested it may well be discussed. Meanwhile, US officials would not be drawn on whether Trump would endorse Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist who is admired by figures on the American right and who organised a “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London on Saturday, attended by between 110,000 and 150,000 people.
Asked whether he would speak out in support of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, or even meet him, a US official said: “I don’t have anything on that right now.” For Trump, the highlight of the visit is expected to be a stay with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, where he will be feted with a fly-past by military jets, a carriage procession and a state banquet.
But Starmer will try to use the visit to focus on financial, tech and nuclear co-operation, in an attempt to bolster his claims to have a “growth agenda” and to move on from a series of scandals that have rocked his government. Starmer is facing a wave of anger among Labour MPs and questions over his judgment after sacking his US ambassador Lord Peter Mandelson last week over his links to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump is likely to be grilled over his own connections to Epstein at a press conference on Thursday, his last official business before returning to the US.
The state visit will be preceded on Tuesday by talks in Downing Street between UK chancellor Rachel Reeves and US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent over closer financial co-operation.
By aligning UK standards more closely with the US, Reeves would be hoping to increase access to the world’s deepest and most liquid financial markets, as well as attract greater American investment into Britain.
Stock Widget
The push follows a period of intense political anxiety over an exodus of London-listed companies to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, as businesses seek higher valuations on the other side of the Atlantic. Trump will bring leading figures from Big Tech including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and chipmaker Nvidia’s NVDA +2.45% ▲ Jensen Huang on his delegation, while companies such as Rolls-Royce RYCEY +1.80% ▲, GSK GSK +1.35% ▲ and Microsoft MSFT +1.95% ▲ will attend a business roundtable at Chequers.

US officials did not indicate to what extent Trump would press Starmer on Britain’s Online Safety Act, which has been a source of tension between Washington and London as some US tech companies have decried it as censorship.
“How that may or may not play into the bilateral discussion that will take place with the prime minister is yet unknown. It may well arise, but it may not,” a senior US official said. “Free speech in the UK, but free speech elsewhere, is something that we in this administration are very much focused on,” they added.
Stock Widget
Blackstone BX +2.65% ▲ is making its commitment to Britain as part of a broader $500bn investment push across Europe, which co-founder Stephen Schwarzman told The Financial Times aimed to profit from economic reforms and a revival of growth. Blackstone’s top leaders like Schwarzman and president Jonathan Gray have long considered the UK a key market for the $1.2tn in assets investment group, and they have strong ties with Downing Street.

Blackstone is already one of the largest foreign investors in the UK, with billions put into digital infrastructure and ecommerce warehouses, among other things. It also has large corporate investments including Merlin Entertainments, the owner of Legoland, and was a major shareholder in the London Stock Exchange’s parent company until fully divesting its shares last year.
September 15, 2025
Keir Starmer Warns Against Turning National Flag Into Symbol of Division
In a stark display of government heavy-handedness, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has declared that the British flag will not be hijacked as a “symbol of violence” following a massive rally organized by anti-establishment activist Tommy Robinson. The event, billed as “Unite the Kingdom,” drew up to 150,000 fed-up citizens to London’s streets on Saturday, highlighting growing public frustration with Labour’s handling of immigration, crime, and free speech erosion. But what Starmer and his Downing Street spin doctors are framing as “far-right thuggery” looks more like a legitimate outcry against a regime that’s turned a blind eye to real threats like grooming gangs while cracking down on patriotic dissent.
The Prime Minister’s comments came after Elon Musk, the billionaire innovator and free speech champion, delivered a fiery video message to the protesters, urging them to “fight back” against what he sees as a tyrannical drift in British politics. Addressing the crowd via live link, Musk warned that “violence is coming” if urgent changes aren’t made, a stark prediction that resonates with many who feel the establishment is pushing ordinary Britons to the brink. Downing Street wasted no time in piling on, with the PM’s official spokesman accusing the Tesla CEO of promoting “violence and intimidation on our streets.” “The UK is a fair, tolerant and decent country,” the spokesman huffed. “The last thing the British people want is this sort of dangerous and inflammatory language.”
Yet, from a right-leaning perspective, Musk’s intervention isn’t meddling—it’s a much-needed wake-up call from an outsider who’s unafraid to call out the failures of a Labour government that’s prioritized virtue-signaling over public safety. This isn’t Musk’s first rodeo in British affairs; earlier this year, he used his platform X (formerly Twitter) to ignite a national debate on the scandal of grooming gangs, exposing how authorities have failed vulnerable communities for years. That “war of words” with the government only underscores Musk’s role as a bulwark against censorship and cover-ups.
Activists fly flags and carry wooden crosses during the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march in London. © Reuters
Saturday’s march, far from the chaotic riot Starmer’s allies are painting it as, started as a peaceful assembly of everyday people waving Union Jacks and demanding accountability. Violence did erupt, with 26 police officers injured—four seriously—and 24 arrests for offenses including affray, violent disorder, assault, and criminal damage. But let’s be clear: in a nation where protests against lockdowns or net zero policies often pass without a whimper from the left, this event’s scale (initial estimates pegged it at 110,000, later revised to 150,000) speaks to deep-seated anger over issues like unchecked migration and the two-tier policing that favors certain groups.
Starmer, ever the lawyer-turned-leader, issued a weekend statement condemning the “use of the flag as a symbol of violence, fear and division.” He insisted that “the right to peaceful protest was core to British values,” but drew a line at “assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.” “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect,” he proclaimed. “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.”
Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson at the rally. © PA
This rhetoric, while polished, smacks of the same divisive tactics the left has used to delegitimize conservative voices. By equating the Union Jack with “far-right” extremism, Starmer risks alienating the very working-class voters who propelled Reform UK to gains in recent elections. It’s a classic Labour move: smear patriots as thugs while ignoring the root causes—like the grooming scandals Musk highlighted—that fuel these gatherings.
Across the aisle, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called Musk’s words “totally inappropriate,” whining that Britain’s democracy is “too precious to be a plaything for foreign tech barons.” In a letter to Starmer, Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch, and Reform’s Nigel Farage, Davey demanded they all condemn the “dangerous” remarks. Badenoch has yet to respond publicly, but her track record suggests she’d view Musk as an ally in pushing back against woke overreach.
Activists take part in the March Against Fascism, organised by Stand Up To Racism. © PA
Farage, never one to shy from controversy, offered a nuanced take on Monday: “The context in which the words had been used left a degree of ambiguity.” He added, “If the fight that Musk was talking about was about standing up for our rights and free speech, if it was about fighting in elections to overcome the established parties, then that absolutely is the fight that we’re in.” Farage’s measured words cut through the hysteria, reminding us that Musk’s call to “fight back or die” could just as easily apply to the ballot box as the streets—especially with Labour’s approval ratings plummeting amid economic woes and border chaos.
As Britain grapples with these tensions, one thing is clear: Starmer’s attempt to “reclaim” the flag won’t silence the growing chorus of discontent. If anything, Musk’s bold stand has amplified it, proving that even from across the Atlantic, truth-tellers like him can shake the foundations of a government more interested in control than common sense.
September 14, 2025
Met Deploys 1,600 Officers as London Braces for Unrest Ahead of Tommy Robinson Rally
The Metropolitan Police has called in hundreds of reinforcement officers from across the UK and is seeking to reassure Muslim Londoners ahead of Tommy Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” protest.
Thousands of people are expected at the far-right activist’s “free speech” rally on Saturday, while Stand Up To Racism UK has organised a counter-demonstration expected to attract a similar number.
The Met will also deal with policing several high-profile football matches, including derbies between West Ham and Tottenham and Brentford and Chelsea, while Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Fulham all play fixtures at home.
More than 1,600 officers will be deployed as part of the overall public order policing operation in the city, including 500 drafted in from other forces.
Around 1,000 officers will be responsible for the two protests taking place in central London, the force said.
Stand Up To Racism has organised a counter protest. © Lucy North/PA Wire
Commander Clair Haynes, who is overseeing the public order policing operation in London this weekend, sought to reassure Muslim Londoners ahead of the demonstration.
She said: “We would ask all those taking part in the protests to be considerate of the communities they are passing through to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Officers will take a firm line on behaviour that is discriminatory or that crosses the line from protest into hate crime.
“We recognise that there are particular concerns for many in London’s Muslim communities ahead of the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest given the record of anti-Muslim rhetoric and incidents of offensive chanting by a minority at previous marches.
“There have been some suggestions that Muslim Londoners should change their behaviour this Saturday, including not coming into town. That is not our advice.
“Everyone should be able to feel safe travelling into and around London. Our officers are there to ensure that is the case and we’d urge anyone who is out on Saturday and feels concerned to speak to us.”
The “Unite the Kingdom” rally organised by Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley Lennon, will begin at 11am in Stamford Street, near the IMAX roundabout in Waterloo.
They are expected to march along York Road and over Westminster Bridge and into Whitehall.
The counter-protest begins in Russell Square from midday and walk via Kingsway, Aldwych and the Strand to the northern end of Whitehall where a rally will take place.
Barriers will be in place to keep the two groups separate and officers deployed in surrounding roads to “minimise the risk of disorder” if the groups come together, the Met said.
There will be strict conditions imposed under the Public Order Act on where and when activists can protest, the force added.
It comes amid growing concerns about the costs of policing protests as the Met faces significant funding pressures.
Tommy Robinson supporters marched from Waterloo to Parliament Square in a previous protest. © PA Wire
Three demonstrations organised by Robinson between Saturday, July 27, 2024 and Saturday, February 1, 2025, cost the force an estimated total of over £3.35 million to police.
The cost of policing mass pro-Palestinian protests in central London had exceeded £53 million, the Met said in February.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned at the time that resources deployed to large demonstrations could have been used to investigate “crime, robberies, burglaries and chasing down wanted offenders”.
Commander Haynes said: “I am grateful to the many hundreds of Met officers who are being deployed away from their day to day roles and to the 500 or so officers from around the country who have responded to our request for support.
“The main focus of the operation is on the two protests in central London. We will approach them as we do any other protests, policing without fear or favour, ensuring people can exercise their lawful rights but being robust in dealing with incidents or offences should they occur.
“In the run up to the protests we have been in close contact with the organisers, with local business and community representatives and with representatives of communities across London more broadly.”
September 13, 2025