The following is a list of English Defence League (EDL) demonstrations:
Date | Location | Attendance | Description of event | |
---|---|---|---|---|
8 August 2009 | Birmingham | 900 | Counter protest by, and clashes with, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) supporters.[1] | |
5 September 2009 | Birmingham | Unknown | Clashes with socialist protestors,[2] West Midlands police state the EDL "...had no intent to protest".[3] 45 arrested were from the EDL; a similar number were arrested belonged to groups opposing them.[4] | |
13 September 2009 | London | Unknown | Counter-demonstration to pro-Palestinian rally.[5] | |
10 October 2009 | Manchester | 700[6] | Counter-protest by 1,400 UAF supporters. Riot police on hand to separate sides.[7] | |
31 October 2009 | Leeds | 900[8] | Counter-protested by 1,500 UAF. Leeds council and West Yorkshire Police thanked the public and participants "for their patience and consideration".[9] The protest was controversial as a tree which had been erected in City Square with the intention to decorate it as a Christmas tree at a later date had to be taken down to accommodate the protest. | |
November 2009 | Glasgow | approx 70 | 5 arrests[10] | |
5 December 2009 | Nottingham | 500[11] | Demonstration following Mercian Regiment homecoming parade, clashes with Muslim students and UAF. | |
13 December 2009 | Harrow, London | Unknown | Protest outside Harrow Central Mosque was countered by 200 UAF members.[12] | |
23 January 2010 | Stoke-on-Trent | 1500[13] | EDL break through police lines. Police officers were injured and police vehicles damaged. All arrests were linked to the EDL demonstration.[14] Approximately 300 supporters of Unite Against Fascism held a counter-demonstration.[15] | |
11 January 2010 | Wootton Bassett | 200[16] | ||
5 March 2010 | London | 300[17] | Rally in support of Geert Wilders' visit to the House of Lords. 100 UAF counter-demonstrators.[18] | |
20 March 2010 | Bolton | 2000 | Counter-protested by 1500 UAF.[19] [20] 9 arrested from EDL and around 55 from UAF.[21] | |
3 April 2010 | Dudley | 2000[22] | Several EDL supporters knocked down fencing and escaped the police cordon.[23] There were 1,500 UAF counter-demonstrators.[24] | |
1 May 2010 | Aylesbury | 800 | Protest against "militant Islam". Eight of the arrests were on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon.[25] About 75 UAF counter-demonstrators gathered in the town, but later left.[26] | |
29 May 2010 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 1500-2000[27] | UAF hold counter-demonstration of around 1,000. No arrests at either demonstration despite minor scuffles. | |
15 June 2010 | Barking | 200-300 | Counter-demonstration to Muslims Against Crusades (MAC), during 1st Battalion of The Royal Anglian Regiment homecoming parade. | |
24 June 2010 | Kilmarnock | 40[28] | No arrests | |
17 July 2010 | Dudley | 500[29] | The UAF attendance of 350.[30] | |
28 August 2010 | Bradford | 700[31] | 1,300 police officers were involved in policing the protest.[32] Various missiles were thrown by EDL supporters during the protest.[33] In an online posting, Anders Behring Breivik claimed he attended the Bradford demonstration.[34] | |
11 September 2010 | Oldham | 150[35] | EDL converged on Oldham around mid-day after telephoning police in advance at 8.45am[36] and laid a wreath at the war memorial. | |
9 October 2010 | Leicester | 1000[37] | After the Home secretary accepted Leicester City Council's application for a ban on all marches in the city on this date[38] the EDL held a static demonstration numbering 1,000, while Unite Against Fascism (UAF) staged a counter-protest numbering 700. One police officer was taken to hospital with a leg injury and two protesters were treated by paramedics for minor injuries.[39] | |
25 October 2010 | London | Unknown | The EDL held a protest opposing "Islamification" of the United Kingdom and showing support for Israel outside the Israeli embassy. It was attended by Rabbi Nachum Shifren.[40] | |
30 October 2010 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 60[41] | 5 Britons were among several dozen arrested.[42] | |
21 November 2010 | Wolverhampton | 100 | There was a counter-demonstration attended by 40 supporters of UAF.[43] | |
27 November 2010 | Preston | 1000-2000 | There was a counter-demonstration attended by 150 supporters of UAF.[44] | |
27 November 2010 | Nuneaton | 500 [45] | There was a counter-demonstration by 150 local anti-fascists. Both sides threw missiles and fire works.[46] | |
11 December 2010 | Peterborough | 500[47] | The protest was policed by roughly 1000 officers from 18 forces. A counter-protest by the Peterborough Trades Union Council took place in another location in the city and was attended by approximately 80 people. Police kept the two protests apart. | |
5 February 2011 | Luton | 3,000[48] | The EDL was joined by new "defence leagues" from Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as other more established groups from France, Germany and Denmark.[49] A counter-protest took place in another location in the city and was attended by approximately 1000 UAF supporters.[50] The protests were policed by officers from 14 forces. | |
5 March 2011 | Rochdale | 500 | Around 500 EDL protesters congregated at Rochdale town centre's war memorial. A counter-protest was held by around 150 people from Unite Against Fascism, with the two groups being kept 100 feet apart by police. 31 people were arrested.[51] | |
12 March 2011 | Dagenham | 130[52] | ||
2 April 2011 | Blackburn | 2000[53] | ||
6 May 2011 | Grosvenor Square, London | unknown | EDL members clashed with 300 Islamists and MAC members who held a funeral prayer for Osama bin Laden[54] | |
28 May 2011 | Blackpool | 1,500-2,000[55] | 50 people attended the UAF counter protest. | |
11 June 2011 | Maidenhead | 100[56] | No arrests | |
12 June 2011 | Dewsbury | 500[57] | 75 UAF counter-demonstrators | |
9 July 2011 | Cambridge | 300[58] | 1,000 attended a counter-demonstration. There were seven arrests in total.[59] | |
9 July 2011 | Halifax | 450[60] | 6 people were arrested. Cost of policing event £336,000.[61] | |
9 July 2011 | Middlesbrough | 500[62] | No people were arrested | |
9 July 2011 | Plymouth | 150[63] | 300 to 400 UAF counter-demonstrators | |
16 July 2011 | Portsmouth | 500 [64] | The EDL marched through the city while 200 people attended a counter-demonstration by the UAF in Guildhall Square.[65] 7 arrests.[66] | |
4 August 2011 | Irvine | Unknown | 60 UNISON and left-wingers countered the demonstration[67] | |
9 August 2011 | Enfield and Eltham, London | Unknown | EDL supporters were alleged to be among groups of vigilantes who marched through Enfield and Eltham during the 2011 England riots. Reports suggest around 50 EDL supporters among the 200 vigilantes in Eltham and similar numbers among the 500 in Enfield.[68] | |
13 August 2011 | Telford | 350[69] | 250 counter-demonstrators turned up in the Wellington region | |
3 September 2011 | Tower Hamlets | 1,000[70] | 1,500 counter-demonstrators turned up | |
10 September 2011 | Bedford | 100[71] | 100 EDL members demonstrated outside Bedford Prison to protest against the imprisonment of EDL leader Tommy Robinson. | |
10 September 2011 | Edinburgh | 200[72] | Scottish Defence League, an offshoot of the EDL, brought 200 supporters who were outnumbered by 400 UAF counterdemonstrators[73] | |
11 September 2011 | London | Unknown | EDL counter protest against a Muslims Against Crusades demonstration in support of the 9/11 attacks outside the US Embassy in London. 40 people were arrested and later two EDL members were stabbed by Muslim youths in Edgware Road.[74] | |
8 October 2011 | Downing Street | 150 - 200[75] | A demonstration was held by the EDL following remarks made by Prime Minister David Cameron's that "I’ve described some parts of our society as sick and there is none sicker than the EDL". A counter-demonstration was organised by the UAF. No arrests were made. | |
17 October 2011 | Sandwell | 25[76] | EDL members attacked an Ahmadiyya book stall | |
17 October 2011 | Birmingham | 500[77] | There was a counter demonstration by 120 anti-fascists. There were 4 arrests. | |
11 November 2011 | Whitehall | 179 | 179 arrests at Armistice Remembrance Day amid suspicions EDL would disrupt Occupy London[78] | |
14 January 2012 | Barking and Whitechapel | unknown | 15 arrests, one man hospitalised[79] | |
4 February 2012 | Leicester | 800[80] | 2200 police officers were on duty | |
23 February 2012 | Rochdale | 200[81] | One officers wounded, two arrested | |
25 February 2012 | Hyde | 600[82] | Protest against racist attack on English youth. | |
31 March 2012 | Aarhus, Denmark | Possible 700[83] | ||
5 May 2012 | Luton | 2000[84] | ||
4 June 2012 | Newcastle upon Tyne | Unknown[85] | Counter protest against 'anti-Jubilee protesters'. | |
14 July 2012 | Bristol | 300[86] | 3,000 at the 'Unite Bristol Against the EDL' Counter-Protest | |
22 July 2012 | Chelmsford | 30[87] | ||
6 October 2012 | Sunderland | 200[88] | Demonstration against planned Sunderland mosque. | |
29 September 2012 | Walsall | 500[89] | 500 counter protesters, 28 arrests. | |
11 November 2012 | Norwich | 200[90] | Protest at Norwich City Council's decision to ban Pastor Alan Clifford, of Norwich Reformed Church, for promoting anti-Islam leaflets. | |
23 February 2013 | Cambridge | 30[91] | Demonstration against planned Cambridge mosque. | |
2 March 2013 | Manchester | 700[92] | 350 UAF took part in a counter demonstration. 12 EDL members and 3 UAF members arrested.[93] | |
25 May 2013 | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | 1,500-2,000[94] | Approx 700 counter demonstrators attended the Newcastle Unites event. | |
20 July 2013 | Birmingham | 750–1,000[95] | ~750—1,000 members showed up | |
8 September 2013 | Tower Hamlets | 500[96] | Tommy Robinson arrested | |
20 February 2016 | Preston[97] | 150 - 200[98] | No arrests - between 150 and 200 protesters took part | |
1 April 2017 | London | Unknown | Counterprotest by anti-fascists, no arrests. |