A huge London rally, organized under the theme “Unite the Kingdom” by former EDL leader Tommy Robinson, concluded with worship songs and prayer from a platform set up in Whitehall, followed by speeches from far-right politicians from across Europe.
Attended by more than 150,000 people marching through central London on Saturday, the demonstration featured displays of wooden crosses held high, images of Christ on flags, and banners declaring “Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life.”
Churchgoers attended despite prior warnings from some London church leaders that the march’s organizers were linked to “division and racial intolerance.”
“It’s a Crusade cross. It represents the Crusaders who drove the Muslims and Islamists from Europe,” commented a protester from Walsall, explaining his reason for carrying his flag. Speaking to Premier Christian News, “Peter” said he was a cultural Christian and did not attend church, but that he wanted at least one million Muslims deported from Britain “in the same way Donald Trump is removing illegals in America.”
When pressed for details about which church they worshipped at, other flag-bearers—including those carrying flags inscribed with Bible verses—admitted they were not active Christians.
But others on the march clearly were.
Walking in the crowds on the way to Westminster, a group of Christians from Chelmsford, Essex, wore T-shirts with Bible verses and Christian iconography. They said they backed the march as they were “English patriots.”
“Tom” told Premier that they didn’t feel listened to by politicians in Westminster. “We need to proclaim Christ first, and we need to bring England back as a Christian country,” he said.
In Whitehall, Rikki Doolan of Spirit Embassy Church in north London led worship songs from the main platform, followed by Bishop Ceiron Dewar of the Confessing Anglican Church, who led the crowd in the Lord’s Prayer.
Ahead of the event, the Bishop of Edmonton and Lead Bishop for Racial Justice, Rt. Rev. Anderson Jeremiah, and Dr. Lisa Adjei, Head of Racial Justice Priority in the Diocese of London, issued a statement saying they were “deeply concerned” by the planned march.
“Though framed as a celebration of free speech, it is inextricably linked to voices and movements that have previously contributed to division and racial intolerance. This is at odds with everything we, and millions of Londoners, stand for,” their statement warned.
But according to Brian Tamaki of Destiny Church, New Zealand, the rally was God’s work. He told the crowds from the platform that it was “Christianity undergirding our democracies,” but “we turned our back on God.”
Tamaki said, “We must return to the faith that built our nations strong, and that faith is Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ is Lord of all nations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”
The Pentecostal leader told the crowd, “This is the moment that we should rise up.”
Speaking after the event, organizer Tommy Robinson said the rally was the “spark for a cultural revolution in Britain.”