LONDON, Sept 14, (AP): A London march organized by far-right activist Tommy Robinson drew more than 110,000 people and became unruly on Saturday as a small group of his supporters clashed with police officers who were separating them from counterprotesters. Several officers were punched, kicked and struck by bottles tossed by people at the fringes of the "Unite the Kingdom” rally, Metropolitan Police said.

Reinforcements with helmets and riot shields were deployed to support the 1,000-plus officers on duty. Twenty six police officers were injured - four who were seriously hurt, including broken teeth and a concussion, a possible broken nose and a spinal injury. At least 25 people were arrested for offenses including violent disorder, assaults and criminal damage, and the investigation continues, police said.

"There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence," Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said. "They confronted officers, engaging in physical and verbal abuse and making a determined effort to breach cordons in place to keep everyone safe.” The rally drew an estimated crowd of between 110,000 and 150,000 people, far surpassing expectations, police said.

The rival "March Against Fascism” protest organized by Stand Up To Racism had about 5,000 marchers. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, founded the nationalist and anti-Islam English Defense League and is one of the most influential far-right figures in Britain. The march was billed as a demonstration in support of free speech - with much of the rhetoric by influencers and several far-right politicians from across Europe aimed largely at the perils of migration, a problem much of the continent is struggling to control.

"We are both subject to the same process of the great replacement of our European people by peoples coming from the south and of Muslim culture, you and we are being colonized by our former colonies,” far-right French politician Eric Zemmour said. Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and owner of the X platform who has waded into British politics several times this year, was beamed in by video and condemned the left-leaning UK. government. "

There’s something beautiful about being British and what I see happening here is a destruction of Britain, initially a slow erosion, but rapidly increasing erosion of Britain with massive uncontrolled migration," he said. Robinson told the crowd in a hoarse voice that migrants now had more rights in court than the "British public, the people that built this nation.”