A viral undercover video by British YouTuber Niko Omilana has intensified scrutiny of the “Unite the Kingdom” march in central London this month, documenting racist and Islamophobic remarks from some attendees and prompting renewed questions about the tone and intent of the mass rally organised by far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson. Disguised as an elderly white man he called “Ron Side,” Omilana filmed a series of street-level exchanges and published the 31-minute compilation on Saturday 27 September, saying he wanted to test organisers’ claims that the protest was about free speech and public order rather than race or religion. “So I decided to go undercover myself and find out people’s motivations for going, and also, see if there actually is racism, or, if it’s just one big smelly lie,” he said in the video’s opening.
The footage shows Omilana moving across packed pavements near the march route, engaging small groups and individuals who describe migrants as a threat, repeat conspiracies about Muslims and, in several cases, use racial slurs. In one sequence highlighted by news sites that reviewed the video, a woman who gave her name as Alesha said she carried three knives and would use them if she encountered a Black person at the protest, a claim Omilana captured on camera before the woman volunteered that her father was from Mauritius. Several other exchanges recorded calls to “shoot” migrants and sink small boats, according to a written summary of the most extreme remarks compiled by indy100, which declined to quote the slurs verbatim.
A separate moment, also visible in the upload, shows the mask of Omilana’s disguise slipping during a conversation with a man talking about “taking back” the country, prompting an angry reaction from nearby supporters before the YouTuber moved away. Entertainment site LadBible, which collated clips from the film after it went live, described the incident as one in which Omilana was nearly attacked after his cover slipped; its report framed the video as an attempt to test repeated assertions from rally organisers and participants that racism was neither present nor tolerated at the event.
Omilana’s closing remarks set out his own conclusion from the day’s interviews and the material captured on his hidden camera. “From this, I think it’s clear to say there’s a clear racism and Islamophobia issue in the UK,” he says. “I don’t believe everyone at this march is racist, but it’s clear a lot of racists feel very comfortable being involved, and instead of anyone here calling it out, it’s completely denied.” The video had drawn more than 1.1 million views by Sunday, according to indy100’s tally.