A United Kingdom Independence Party (Ukip) demonstration has been banned from taking place in an area with a large Muslim population because of a “realistic prospect of serious disorder”, police have said.
The event, which was initially advertised as a march from Whitechapel station in east London and later revised to be an assembly in the same area, was due to take place on Saturday afternoon, according to the Metropolitan Police.
The demonstration was part of a series of events taking place across the UK which were promoted as a “mass deportations tour”, with organisers calling on attendees to “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists”, the force said.
A counter-protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism and a number of local groups, was also expected, police added.
On Tuesday, police said they had imposed Public Order Act conditions meaning Ukip cannot hold its protest in Whitechapel or anywhere else in the borough of Tower Hamlets.
Commander Nick John, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: “Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.
“It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location.”
He added: “Ukip are free to organise their protest in an alternative location but they will not be holding it in Tower Hamlets.”
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