Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the English flag as cover for violence and to instil fear, Keir Starmer has said, condemning attacks against police officers and racist harassment.
The prime minister said the St George’s flag “represents our diverse country” and he would not tolerate people being “intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin”.
MPs and anti-fascist groups had urged the prime minister to speak up against some of the rhetoric of the largest nationalist protest in decades, organised by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
The pressure on Downing Street to be more proactive in defence of diversity came after 10 days of widespread dissatisfaction from MPs over the handling of Angela Rayner’s resignation, the ensuing reshuffle and the sacking of the US ambassador, Peter Mandelson, over links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The prime minister will host Donald Trump for a state visit this week, where Starmer will be expected to be quizzed on his handling of Mandelson and rightwing talking points.
In his first comment about Saturday’s march, Starmer said on Sunday that there was a right to peaceful protest but that violence and intimidation were unacceptable, and he condemned the appropriation of the St George’s flag by the far-right, anti-immigration protesters.
“People have a right to peaceful protest. It is core to our country’s values,” the prime minister said in a statement to the Guardian. “But we will not stand for assaults on police officers doing their job or for people feeling intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin.”
He added: “Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division.”
Police estimated that between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended the event on Saturday, which was addressed by Elon Musk. Musk told the crowd that “violence is coming” and that “you either fight back or you die”.
He said: “I really think that there’s got to be a change of government in Britain. You can’t – we don’t have another four years, or whenever the next election is, it’s too long. Something’s got to be done. There’s got to be a dissolution of parliament and a new vote held.”
Starmer’s forthright comments may settle some nerves in Labour, where there has been growing concern that the prime minister has not yet done enough to take on the attacks of the right.
Riot police push a protester during the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ demonstration in London on Saturday. Photograph: Krisztián Elek/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
However, parliament’s black caucus, led by the Labour MP Dawn Butler, issued a statement condemning “racism, abuse and anti-migrant hatred” and called for greater leadership on the issue.
“The government must show leadership. It must take urgent steps to reduce tensions, call out and challenge racist rhetoric and behaviour wherever it occurs, and take far more seriously the threat posed by the far right – which police have identified as the UK’s fastest-growing threat,” the group said in a statement.
Other MPs issued their own strongly worded condemnation on social media, including the former shadow cabinet minister Rosena Allin-Khan and new MPs Lizzi Collinge, Kevin McKenna and Ben Goldsborough. McKenna particularly condemned Musk’s address to the rally, describing it as “a call for violence against the British state, from a foreign national who controls a major propaganda engine, and has engineered it to monetise hate”.
Before the march, the anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate sent a letter to the prime minister asking him to make public condemnation of growing racist rhetoric. The call was echoed by a number of senior MPs who said Labour had a duty to counter growing rightwing extremism.
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On Sunday, some Labour MPs told the Guardian they had been unsettled by comments from the business secretary, Peter Kyle, earlier in the day that stopped short of condemning the protests and said they were a “klaxon call” for the government.
Kyle said figures such as Robinson were able to “touch into a sense of disquiet and grievance in the community in our society”. He said moments like the demonstration were “klaxon calls to us in public life to redouble our efforts to address the big concerns that people right across our country have, and immigration is a big concern”.
The Labour MP Stella Creasy tweeted: “In spirit of free speech I disagree with Peter Kyle – we can defend right of people to protest and still be concerned that for many watching yesterday purpose behind this event is not freedom but fear.
“They must be able to march and we must challenge message as not who we are.”
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, suggested the Conservatives should also speak out to condemn the violent rhetoric. He said: “Elon Musk openly called for violence on our streets yesterday. I hope politicians from all parties come together to condemn his deeply dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric. Britain must stand united against this clear attempt to undermine our democracy.”
A total of 26 officers were injured in clashes as projectiles were hurled on Saturday, and the Metropolitan police said on Sunday that 24 people were arrested for a range of offences including common assault and violent disorder.
A man who said on camera that “Keir Starmer needs to be assassinated” and “someone needs to shoot Keir Starmer”, and whose comments were published online, is among those being sought by police.
Robinson was among those who addressed the crowds from a stage, along with a range of other far-right figures. However, there were no-shows by promised speakers including Steve Bannon, the former Trump strategist, and Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist and culture warrior.
Others who appeared on the same stage included the former Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib, who is setting up a rival party to the right of Reform known as Advance UK, which Robinson says he has joined.
