The Metropolitan Police say that between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Country’ in London on Saturday. That is despite claims from Robinson and his supporters that the rally was attended by as many as three million people.
Professor Milad Haghani, chairman and founder of the Crowd Safety Summit, has provided his professional view, claiming it is common for figures to be both deflated and inflated when a protest is of a political nature. Prof Haghani told the Express: “For a rally with a political cause like this, there’s every incentive to inflate and deflate the crowd size.”
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He added: “I’ve already seen figures thrown around from three million to one million to 100,000 That’s not unusual for events with such a distinct political and controversial nature. The truth almost always sits somewhere in between.
“My own initial (mis)perception gave me a very different impression – closer to 200,000 – and I even checked with one of our postdoctoral fellows, who thought I was underestimating.
“But once we resorted to the map and did some approximate calculations, it became clear we had both fallen for the same visual trap of thinking the crowd was bigger than it really was.”
Prof Haghani, from the University of Melbourne, believes fewer than 100,000 people attended the march on Saturday, and explained how he got to that conclusion.
He said that the stretch of road occupied by the crowd was about 700 metres long and around 20 metres wide, at a density of four people per square metre.
“That gives about 56,000,” he said. “Including an additional 10,000 at each end for the two squares, we only reach roughly 76,000. However I run the numbers, it’s very difficult to make it to 100,000.”
Eight people have been charged after disorder broke out during the protests leaving 26 police officers injured.
25 people were arrested on the day, with the force confirming that it had started a post-operation investigation to identify others involved in the violence.
Detective Chief Inspector Natalie Norris, from the Met’s Public Order Crime Team, said: “Public order policing doesn’t end when the event is over and since Saturday our teams have been working to identify those involved in any criminality.
“Our post-event investigation is ongoing and officers have trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage and continue to review evidence to help with inquiries.
Anyone with information or relevant footage can call 101 quoting CAD 4624/15SEP25 or tweet @MetCC, or to remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or online.