LONDON: The leader of the far-right English Defence League (EDL) was arrested yesterday after breaching a police order banning a march to the London site where a soldier was murdered last month, the group said.
Scotland Yard had warned Tommy Robinson and other EDL members they faced arrest if they went ahead with a planned walk and rally at the barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, where Lee Rigby was hacked to death.
Two British converts to Islam are due to stand trial over the murder in November.
Police said the EDL’s plans risked causing “serious public disorder” and told the group to hold their rally, timed to mark Armed Forces Day in Britain, near Parliament in central London.
The EDL campaigns against what it says is the spread of radical Islam in Britain. But it has been accused of Islamophobia and previous rallies have ended in clashes with anti-fascist groups.
Despite the police warning, Robinson went ahead with a sponsored walk through the capital with EDL co-leader Kevin Carroll, aimed to raise money for a children’s cancer charity.
UK’s far-right leader held on banned march
