Hundreds of thousands march through London in stand against the far right

Thousands march through London in stand against the far rightOrganisers say ‘Together Alliance’ event was the largest anti-far-right march in British history, drawing half a million people.London, United Kingdom – Tens of thousands of people have marched through central London in what organisers are calling the largest ever demonstration against the far right in British history.The Together Alliance march, backed by about 500 groups including trade unions, antiracism campaigners and Muslim representative bodies, brought together a diverse crowd of all ages from across the country on Saturday, converging on Whitehall near the Houses of Parliament.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3After State of the Union, Trump’s agenda faces new political realitylist 2 of 3Trump sends US immigration agents to airports as shutdown chaos deepenslist 3 of 3Israel’s unending attacks in Lebanon push country’s population to the brinkend of listOrganisers said that half a million people took part.Kevin Courtney, chairman of the Together Alliance, told crowds the march “gives us all confidence to carry on.”London’s Metropolitan Police put the figure considerably lower, at approximately 50,000, though it acknowledged it was difficult to reach an accurate figure given how spread out the crowds were.The protest was met with a far smaller group of counterprotesters waving Israeli flags and Iran’s pre-1979 monarchical flag.Aadam Muuse, a trade union activist, told Al Jazeera that racism and Islamophobia had moved from the fringes into mainstream politics, and was “being pushed by parliamentarians”.He said the march was “much needed to push back against [Reform leader Nigel] Farage and his ilk,” adding that the populist party “must be defeated at the ballot box and [far-right agitator] Tommy Robinson [must be] challenged on the streets”.Demonstrators march against ‘far-right extremism” from Park Lane to Trafalgar Square, organised by the Together Alliance, a coalition of unions and civil society groups, in London [Hannah McKay/Reuters]Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic, reporting from the march, said demonstrators were resisting what they saw as “the politics of hate and division” in the United Kingdom.