London Serves as Organizing Hub for Far-Right Groups Following Year of Anti-Migrant Protests and Russian Interference
London has solidified its position as a critical organizing center for numerous far-right groups, becoming a focal point for anti-migrant protests over the past year, according to a comprehensive new report by the anti-racist campaign organization Hope Not Hate. The capital witnessed the largest far-right rally in British history, targeted protests against asylum-seeker housing, and violent interference linked to Russia, marking a year of heightened extremism that also exposed fascist and neo-Nazi networks operating from London.
Hope Not Hate Report Details Rising Extremism and Populism
Hope Not Hate (HNH), established to combat extremism and neo-fascism, released its annual State of HATE 2026 report last week, expressing deep concerns about escalating populism. The report frames this trend against a backdrop of a far-right movement that is expanding in size, growing more extreme, and adopting an increasingly confrontational stance. Addressing right-wing extremism specifically in London, Joe Mulhall, Director of Research at HOPE Not Hate, provided insights to media outlets.
"London plays an important role in the imagination of the far right," Mulhall explained. "They construct an inaccurate picture of a city that typifies all of what they think are the societal ills of Britain. It’s painted as a fallen city, conquered and occupied by alien cultures and enemies, Islamified, crime ridden, dangerous, inherently foreign. They then use this inaccurate and xenophobic caricature as a ‘warning’ to the rest of the country and foreign far right activists."
Unite the Kingdom March and Reform UK's Influence
HNH identified the most significant event of 2025 as Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march, which drew over 150,000 people to London. While many attendees may not identify as far-right, some speakers at the event described multiculturalism as "a failed experiment" and advocated for the expulsion of Muslims from Europe. According to HNH research, approximately a quarter of the British population views the Unite the Kingdom movement positively. This movement is grounded in opposing immigration, reclaiming British identity, promoting freedom of speech, and combating what it terms 'Islamification' by rebuilding the UK as a Christian nation.
Simultaneously, the populist political party Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, continues to lead in national polls. The party holds eight councillors in London and has secured two recent high-profile defections from Newham Labour. Additionally, Reform UK boasts two London Assembly members who defected from the Conservative Party: Alex Wilson and Keith Prince. A Survation poll commissioned by HNH among Reform supporters revealed alarming attitudes: nearly two-thirds (61 percent) expressed approval of Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
More concerning, over half (54 percent) believe non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave the country, compared to only 24 percent if the citizens are white. Nearly half (49 percent) think the same should apply to non-white British citizens whose parents were born abroad. Reform UK did not respond to requests for comment on these findings.
Targeted Protests and Far-Right Networks in the Capital
London experienced a wave of targeted protests centered around asylum-seeker housing, notably at the Thistle hotel in Barbican and the Britannia hotel in Canary Wharf. These incidents included an arson charge following a fire and clashes between masked individuals and police, with one woman attempting to enter a hotel armed with a meat cleaver. The Pink Ladies, an offshoot from the Unite the Kingdom march, also organized protests in Whitechapel and Westminster, citing women's safety fears after sexual assaults in Epping, Nuneaton, and Manchester. However, HNH criticizes the group for framing remigration as a "fix-all solution" to women's safety, thereby meeting genuine concerns about sexual violence with racist rhetoric.
The report further details that London serves as an organizing hub for several far-right groups. These include The Basketweavers, which aims to create connections for new far-right projects, including a whites-only community within Britain, with its London chapter being the most active. White Vanguard and Active Clubs, co-led by an activist from Dagenham, staged a banner drop outside MI5 headquarters, with membership overlapping a fascist martial arts network that encourages physical training and includes members convicted of racially aggravated harassment and violence.
Other groups based in London include Traditional Britain, which uses dinners to bridge between "High Tory" conservatives and fascists and advocates for repatriation; the British Movement, described as perhaps the most overtly neo-Nazi group in the UK with an active London branch; the National Rebirth Party, a "fascist microparty" with a small London branch; the National Front, now led by a figure attempting to build a cult leadership; Scyldings, a far-right conference company running pseudo-academic events; and the National Housing Party, which seeks a complete halt to permanent settled migration and withdrawal from the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
Russian Interference and Agents of Chaos
London also served as a backdrop for state interference from Russia. Mercenaries recruited by the Wagner Group militia on Telegram were jailed for setting fire to an East London warehouse, with Jake Reeves from Croydon among those imprisoned. HNH exposed a more deceptive form of interference from a Russia-based Telegram channel called 'Direct Action,' which offered cash payments of £2,500 for graffiti attacks on mosques, resulting in slogans like "Remigration or die."
Reporting by HNH and Byline Times linked this group to Russia and, even more disturbingly, to a confederation of parties established by Vladimir Putin in 2011. The group was also connected to another channel containing terrorist training manuals, highlighting the complex and dangerous web of extremism and foreign meddling centered in London.
