Around a thousand English Defence League (EDL) protesters shouting "Muslim killers, off our streets" marched through central London on Monday (May 27) against a backdrop of swelling anti-Muslim feeling following the killing of a British soldier last week.

Lee Rigby, a 25-year-old soldier, was hacked to death in broad daylight in a south London street by two men who said they killed him in the name of Islam. The attack has shocked Britain and stirred an anti-Muslim backlash, including attacks on mosques.

In a tense but largely peaceful demonstration, supporters of the EDL rallied in London outside Prime Minister David Cameron's residence waving placards and shouting anti-Islamic obscenities.

EDL leader Tommy Robinson addressed the demonstrators in London, urging them to launch an "English Spring."

Two war memorials in London were vandalised with red graffiti overnight, including the word 'Islam' spray-painted onto one monument.

Police have arrested 10 people so far in connection with the murder. Three people have been released on bail.

The attack prompted an emotional outpouring of sympathy in Britain, with well-wishers laying hundreds of flowers in the street where Rigby was killed. But some were openly angry.

In an attempt to counter the right-wing rally, anti-fascist group Unite Against Racism held its own demonstration nearby but was heavily outnumbered by EDL protesters.

A handful of far-right demonstrators threw bottles and coins at the anti-fascist rally. Police vans and officers blocked the two groups from approaching each other

Presented by Adam Justice

READ:

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/edl-whitehall-london-lee-rigby-471624