UK anti-immigration rallies: Why London protests worry Indian community

Over 100,000 joined Tommy Robinson's London rally as tensions rose. Indians in UK say they feel unsafe after a Sikh woman was raped in a racist assault

London saw one of its largest far-right gatherings in years on Saturday, with more than 100,000 people joining the “Unite the Kingdom” rally led by activist Tommy Robinson, worrying the Indian community in the UK.

 

The march, billed as a free speech event, quickly took on an anti-migrant tone, with speakers pushing conspiracy theories and participants waving St George’s flags and the Union Jack. Chants of “we want our country back” echoed through the streets, while police struggled to contain outbreaks of violence.

 

More than 1,000 officers were on duty, with riot police called in when bottles and punches were thrown. “Some officers were punched, kicked, and hit by bottles from the edges of the rally,” police said, according to the Associated Press.

 

 

The clashes underscored how heated the immigration debate has become in Britain, just two months after Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, warned in July 2025 that the country was on the verge of “civil disobedience on a vast scale.”

 

Elon Musk enters the debate

 

Tesla chief executive and X owner Elon Musk addressed the rally by video link, criticising the British 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.

 

St George’s flags and the union jack have become more common in recent months. For some they signal national pride, but for others they represent a harder edge of nationalism that has accompanied the protests.

 

Racist attack in Oldbury

 

The tension has been amplified by hate crimes. Just a week before the London march, a Sikh woman in her twenties was raped by two men in Oldbury, West Midlands. She was also told to “go back to your own country”, in what police are treating as a racially aggravated attack. The assault happened near Tame Road around 8:30 am on Tuesday. 

 

Indian voices in Britain

 

Indian expatriates say they feel especially vulnerable. Aayat, an Indian professional working in London, told Business Standard: “We are three Indian friends who live together in an apartment in London. We saw the crowd on TV and now we're terrified to even step out or move about the streets… especially after we heard about the Sikh woman who was raped.”

 

Her friend Rashi added: “We're legal immigrants, but you know when there's such anti-sentiment, the status doesn’t really matter. We all get affected, mentally and emotionally. I want the people in the UK to know that we're just here for better opportunities.”

 

Indian presence in the UK

 

According to the 2021 census and subsequent reports, between 1.9 and 2 million people of Indian origin live in Britain. In 2023, about 250,000 Indian nationals arrived in the UK for work, study and other reasons, making them the largest group of new immigrants that year.

 

UK government crackdown on asylum hotels and delivery work

 

Since the Immigration White Paper on June 6, 2025, ministers have moved to shut down hotel use and step up enforcement. On July 5, 2025, the Home Office launched a nationwide clampdown on asylum seekers working illegally—particularly in takeaway delivery jobs.

 

In July 22, 2025, the department had announced a formal data-sharing partnership with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, allowing asylum-hotel location data to be used to detect account-sharing and unauthorised employment.

 

In Parliament on September 1, 2025, ministers reiterated that “all asylum hotels need to close,” setting out plans to accelerate appeal processes to reduce the backlog. Public guidance to accommodation providers now stresses winding down hotel use and cooperating with enforcement, with the central policy focus firmly on closing hotels rather than facilitating work from them.