List of English Defence League protests

The page lists English Defence League protests and attempted protests. For protests in Scotland see the Scottish Defence League page.

English Defence League Insignia

Protests

Date	Location	Attendance	Description of event
8 August 2009	Birmingham	Unknown	Counter protest by, and clashes with, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) supporters.
5 September 2009	Birmingham	Unknown	Clashes with socialist protestors, West Midlands police state the EDL "...had no intent to protest". 45 arrested were from the EDL a similar number were arrested belonged to groups opposing them.
13 September 2009	London	Unknown	Counter demonstration to pro-Palestinian rally.
10 October 2009	Manchester	700	Counter-protest by 1,400 UAF supporters. Riot police on hand to separate sides.
31 October 2009	Leeds	900	Counter-protested by 1,500 UAF. Leeds council and West Yorkshire Police thanked the public and participants "for their patience and consideration". The protest was controversial as a tree which had been erected in City Square with the intention to decorate it as a Christmas tree at a later date had to be taken down to accommodate the protest.
5 December 2009	Nottingham	500	Demonstration following Mercian Regiment homecoming parade, clashes with Asian students and UAF.
23 January 2010	Stoke-on-Trent	1,500	EDL break through police lines. Police officers were injured and police vehicles damaged. All arrests were linked to the EDL demonstration. Approximately 300 supporters of Unite Against Fascism held a counter demonstration.
5 March 2010	London	300	Rally in support of Geert Wilders' visit to the House of Lords. 100 UAF counter-demonstrators.
20 March 2010	Bolton	2,000	Counter-protested by 1,500 UAF. 9 arrested from EDL and around 55 from UAF.
3 April 2010	Dudley	2,000	Several EDL supporters knocked down fencing and escaped the police cordon. There were 1500 UAF counter-demonstrators.
1 May 2010	Aylesbury	800	Protest against militant Islam. Eight of the arrests were on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon. About 75 UAF counter-demonstrators gathered in the town, but later left.
29 May 2010	Newcastle	1,500-2,000	UAF hold counter demonstration of around 1,000. No arrests at either demonstration despite minor scuffles.
17 July 2010	Dudley	500	The UAF attendance of 350.
28 August 2010	Bradford	300–700	1,300 police officers were involved in policing the protest. Various missiles were thrown by EDL supporters during the protest. Approximately 300 UAF supporters attended the counter-demonstration.
11 September 2010	Oldham	120	EDL converged on Oldham around mid-day after telephoning police in advance at 8.45am and laid a wreath at the war memorial.
9 October 2010	Leicester	1000	After the Home secretary accepted Leicester City Council's application for a ban on all marches in the city on this date the EDL held a static demonstration numbering 1,000, while Unite Against Fascism (UAF) staged a counter-protest numbering 700. One police officer was taken to hospital with a leg injury and two protesters were treated by paramedics for minor injuries.
25 October 2010	London	Unknown	The EDL held a protest opposing "Islamification" of the United Kingdom and showing support for Israel outside the Israeli embassy. It was attended by Rabbi Nachum Shifren.
27 November 2010	Preston, Lancashire	1000+	There was a counter demonstration attended by 150 supporters of UAF.
27 November 2010	Nuneaton	500	There was a counter demonstration by 150 local anti-fascists. Both sides threw missiles and fire works.
11 December 2010	Peterborough	500	The protest was policed by roughly 1000 officers from 18 forces. A counter-protest by the Peterborough Trades Union Council took place in another location in the city and was attended by approximately 80 people. Police kept the two protests apart.
5 February 2011	Luton	1500–3000	The EDL was joined by new "defence leagues" from Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as other more established groups from France, Germany and Denmark. A counter-protest took place in another location in the city and was attended by approximately 1000 UAF supporters. The protests were policed by officers from 14 forces.
5 March 2011	Rochdale	500	Around 500 EDL protesters congregated at Rochdale town centre's war memorial. A counter-protest was held by Unite Against Fascism, with the two groups being kept 100 feet apart by police. 31 people were arrested.
2 April 2011	Blackburn	2000
28 May 2011	Blackpool	1500	No arrests
11 June 2011	Dewsbury, West Yorkshire	400-600	Six people arrested
9 July 2011	Cambridge	300	1000 attended a counter-demonstration. There were seven arrests in total.
16 July 2011	Portsmouth	500	The EDL marched through the city while 200 people attended a counter-demonstration by the UAF in Guildhall Square. The two sides never came into direct contact as the EDL were not let into the square, but there were a few incidents where several EDL members tried to disrupt the counter-demonstration. 400 police officers were deployed - some mounted - and seven arrests were made (all of which being on EDL supporters).
9 August 2011	Enfield	500	EDL vigilantes marched through Enfield during the 2011 England riots
13 August 2011	Telford, Shropshire	300-350	Static protest after march banned. Two people arrested en route, and three in various parts of Wellington.
4 August 2012	Keighley, West Yorkshire	100	Around 100 protesters gathered in Keighley for a demonstration at Church Green off North Street and were shouting and chanting. Dozens of police officers were at the scene. Members of the EDL were described as trying to surge through police barriers, and someone let off a firework.
29 June 2013	East London	2	EDL co-leaders Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll were arrested in east London during a planned walk to commemorate Lee Rigby, the soldier who was hacked to death in Woolwich by Islamist extremists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.
7 September 2013	Bermondsey, Greater London	300	Several hundred EDL supporters assembled in Bermondsey to march across the river to Tower Hamlets.
16 September 2013	Ipswich	200	Members of the EDL’s East Anglian Division forced the cancellation of a Love Music, Hate Racism gig in Ipswich after they held a demonstration outside the venue.
8 October 2013	London	1	Tommy Robinson quit as leader of the English Defence League because he said that he could no longer control extremists within the far-right group.
4 December 2013	Southsea, Portsmouth	20	Around 20 members of the Portsmouth EDL staged a protest tonight outside the Jami mosque in Southsea.
8 January 2014	Central Bristol	30	Central Bristol witnessed ugly scenes at night as right wing protesters who opposed plans to open a mosque in Stokes Croft were confronted by counter-demonstrators. About 30 EDL supporters turned out on College Green to stage what had been advertised as a 'peaceful' protest against the former Jesters comedy club in Cheltenham Road being turned into a mosque.
29 March, 2014	Peterborough	300	Crowds gathered in the centre of Peterborough as the EDL marched through the city. The 300-plus members, who waved banners and chanted, marched from the Peacock Pub in London Road to outside Peterborough Magistrates’ Court in Bridge Street.
10 May 2014	Rotherham	500	A march by 500 members of the English Defence League (EDL) in Rotherham on 10 May 2014 reportedly cost the town £1 million. The EDL supporters were met with a counter protest from around 200 people from the left-wing group Unite Against Fascism (UAF) who held placards saying “EDL go to hell” and “No to racism, fascism and Islamophobia”. Both groups were outnumbered by 1,000 police officers deployed at a cost of £500,000, according to South Yorkshire Police.
23 August 2014	Bournemouth	200	Two hundred people gathered in Bournemouth for a march and a counter protest by its opponents.
9 August 2014	Batley, West Yorkshire	350	EDL protesters in Batley received a lukewarm reception when they held their first national demonstration in the town in August 2014. Up to 350 people from across the town took part in the rally, which was held in Batley market place. Hundreds of police officers from Yorkshire, Humberside and beyond were drafted in to oversee the demonstration.
13 September 2014	Rotherham	1000	Protestors attacked police in Rotherham while demonstrating over the recent revelations about child sexual exploitation in the town. Four men were arrested.
27 November 2014	University of Oxford, Oxford	1	EDL Founder Tommy Robinson spoke at the Oxford Union. It was said to be the third attempt to get Mr Robinson, real name Stephen Lennon, to talk at the union - the first having been cancelled amid security concerns and the second because he was sent back to prison.
9 January 2015	N/A	N/A	The week commencing 5 January saw the final sentences handed down to EDL members for their part in the EDL Birmingham demonstration which descended into violence in July 2013. Members got a combined total of 75 years in prison.
9 January 2015	N/A	N/A	English Defence League supporters who brought terror to the streets of Birmingham have been jailed for more than 75 years after violence flared at a protest. Fifty men have appeared before Birmingham Crown Court to be sentenced for violent disorder after ugly scenes were witnessed by police and visitors in July 2013.
13 January 2015	Newcastle	15	The EDL stormed into a book club thinking Russell Brand would turn up (he didn't). Around 15 EDL supporters disrupted the event held at Bar Loco in Newcastle by chanting Islamophobic slogans before shouting 'and now we're going for a curry'.
25 January 2015	Hampshire	N/A	A man was arrested during a protest by members of the EDL in Chandler's Ford.
8 February 2015	Dudley	600	Around 600 EDL marchers descended on the town of Dudley on Saturday to protest against the planned construction of a mosque in the West Midlands. Thirty people were arrested at the protest - 25 were later released without charge.
Date	Location	Attendance	Description of event
Date	Location	Attendance	Description of event
Date	Location	Attendance	Description of event
2 October 2016	Boston, UK	N/A	They marched through Boston town centre on Saturday afternoon.One EDL supported said:'We are here to make people aware that Article 50 needs to be invoked at the earliest opportunity'. There were counter-demonstrators.