Watch out for claim video shows anti-Trump protests in London

In mid-September 2025, video footage spread online claiming to show mass protests in London, U.K., against the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump traveled to the U.K. on a state visit from Sept. 16 to Sept. 18, 2025, where he was feted by the royals and members of the government.

On Sept. 17, footage of protesters on Westminster Bridge in London spread with the caption: “Londoners protesting AGAINST TRUMP visit today. Thank you from the U.S. — we greatly appreciate a break from the fascist toddler.”

However, the above footage was miscaptioned. The video was taken days prior, on Sept. 13, 2025, during the “Unite the Kingdom” far-right rally. We found evidence of the video circulating in the week before Trump’s arrival as well as photographs and news coverage of the same area that showed this rally had little to do with anti-Trump sentiment.

The above footage was clearly shot on Westminster Bridge, with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben visible in the background on the left, as well as the London Eye on the right. This footage spread on social media as early as Sept. 13, 2025, when London became the site of a rally planned long before Trump’s state visit.

As we’ve previously reported, the rally, titled, “Unite the Kingdom,” was organized by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — better known as Tommy Robinson. Robinson, known for anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views, described it as a campaign to “defend free speech,” but the rally included protests against immigration. We found posts on Robinson’s X account as early as May 2025 advertising the event.

On Sept. 15, Robinson shared the same clips from the rally on his verified account, highlighting the extent of the crowds on that bridge. Robinson claimed that “3 million patriots” attended the rally, and many posts said more than a million showed up. 

But Metropolitan Police estimated attendance at “between 110,000 to 150,000” — still “significantly exceeding the estimates of organisers,” per a news release about violence directed at law enforcement during the rally.

Footage taken by The Guardian and Associated Press (AP) also showed similar numbers of crowds in other parts of London, as well as shots of the same crowds at different angles on Westminster Bridge. This video from AP showed the marchers on Westminster Bridge at a closer and lower angle at the 2:47 mark, however it is clear that the crowd numbers coincided with the shots taken from above.

Upon a closer inspection, most of the rally-goers were wielding either the U.K.’s national flag, known as the Union Jack, or the flag for England, a red cross on a white background known as St. George’s flag. Many argue that St. George’s flag is now being weaponized to garner anti-immigration sentiment and far-right nationalism. The videos from the Sept. 13 rally all showcased a sea of whites, reds and some blues, which indicated that many rally-goers were holding St. George’s flags.

Even pictures on Getty Images from Sept. 13 show the scale and numbers of rally-goers on Westminster Bridge.

We should note that there were a number of anti-Trump protests in London organized by the Stop Trump Coalition, though they did not reach the scale of the “Unite the Kingdom” rallies. According to the Metropolitan Police, around 5,000 people gathered just a few days after the “Unite the Kingdom” rally. 

The march on Westminster Bridge in the video was clearly not anti-Trump. In fact, we previously covered how there were pictures of Trump-ally Charlie Kirk on signs and stickers at the rally, after his fatal shooting on Sept. 10. While Robinson did not advertise the rally specifically for Kirk, he advertised it as a way to honor the conservative American activist.

Sources