Free Republic

Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the English flag as cover for violence and to instil fear, Keir Starmer has said, condemning attacks against police officers and racist harassment. The prime minister said the St George’s flag “represents our diverse country” and he would not tolerate people being “intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin”. MPs and anti-fascist groups had urged the prime minister to speak up against some of the rhetoric of the largest nationalist protest in decades, organised by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is...

Well before the march started, thousands of people flowed over Blackfriars bridge, or came up from Waterloo station, flags everywhere, hailing from everywhere - from Yorkshire roses to the diamond of the Isle of Wight. What exactly it was that "United the Kingdom" was left vague, for people to cheer their own particular cause. This was billed as a free speech rally and the most common chants we heard were "Keir Starmer's a *******", "oh Tommy Tommy" and "we want our country back". That means different things to different people. Dawn, up from Southampton and wearing a red sequined jacket,...