Demonstrators have taken to London’s Hyde Park after far-right Austrian activist Martin Sellner said he was planning to speak there on Sunday.
Mr Sellner said that ‘security risks’ and ‘left wing threats’ had forced him to cancel an earlier planned event with UKIP’s youth wing Young Independence.
He later tweeted that he would appear at Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park on Sunday, although his anti-immigration group claimed he had been detained at the border.
Pictures today showed demonstrators turning out on both sides as supporters of Mr Sellner clashed with anti-fascist protesters.
A supporter of Martin Sellner is pictured lighting a flare at Speakers’ Corner as the Austrian far-right activist said he would address a crowd
Demonstrators have taken to London’s Hyde Park after far-right Austrian activist Martin Sellner said he was planning to speak there on Sunday
Pictures today showed demonstrators turning out on both sides as supporters of Mr Sellner clashed with anti-fascist protesters
Mr Sellner (pictured in 2016) is a member of the anti-immigration group Generation Identity
A supporter of Martin Sellner lights a flare while police did their best to keep the peace
The Austrian activist is a member of the anti-immigration group Generation Identity.
‘This massive immigration is changing the face of our streets, of our cities, and soon the people who have been living here for thousands of years will be an endangered minority,’ Sellner said last year.
He tweeted last Tuesday: ‘My speech for the Young Independence conference was cancelled for the 2nd time, due to security risks caused by left wing threats.
‘But we won’t be silenced. On Sunday the 11th I will give my speech on Speakers’ Corner and I invite everybody who had a ticket for the conference to come!’
The Generation Identity Facebook page claimed that Mr Sellner had been denied entry at the border.
It is also alleged that his girlfriend Brittany Pettibone, a fellow right-wing activist, was not allowed to enter the country.
But Home Office spokesman said the department would not comment on whether Mr Sellner or his girlfriend had been detained, the Evening Standard reports.
Hope Not Hate said Generation Identity had been handing out leaflets near Hyde Park before the planned speech.
Supporters of Martin Sellner and Brittany Pettibone at Speakers Corner were confronted by members of London Anifacists
Supporters of the Austrian activist held up placards saying ‘Free Sellner’ amid claims he and his girlfriend had been refused entry at the UK border
The demonstration broke out at Hyde Park after Mr Sellner said he would speak there following the cancellation of an event with UKIP’s youth wing
A police officer stands next to signs supporting right-wing Austrian activist Martin Sellner
The Facebook page of Generation Identity claims that Martin Sellner (pictured in Vienna in 2015) was denied entry at the UK border