Rival anti-terror and unity protesters gather in Walsall town centre
Two groups of demonstrators gathered in Walsall town centre as a march and counter protest took place.
About 50 people took part in the Walsall March Against Terrorism event in Bridge Street, with organisers saying the demonstration aimed to ‘bring the community together’ following terror attacks in London and Manchester.
However, the march was dubbed a far-right rally with MPs and civic leaders united in opposition to it.
As the march took place the We Are Walsall group held an event in Darwall Street to show unity in the face of ‘hatred’.
Backing We Are Walsall were council leader Sean Coughlan, St Matthews councillor Aftab Nawaz, recently elected Walsall North MP Eddie Hughes and Walsall South MP Valerie Vaz.
Councillor Nawaz said: “We stood in solidarity against the far-right march. All of the market had to close down because of the demonstration except for one stall, it simply caused disruption in the town centre.
“There were around 30 or 40 of us and it was a good turnout.”
Co-organiser of the We Are Walsall event, Nasar Iqbal, of interfaith group Innovate Walsall, said: “We are united against all forms of hatred and violence.”
One of the march’s organisers, was Liam Walsall, a former member of the far-right United Patriots group. He said: “We marched against terrorism as a community.
“We contacted a mosque to come and speak but no-one came. We proved we can facilitate a peaceful protest. We don’t want to divide.”
West Midlands Police said there were around 50 protesters involved and no arrests were made.
