PEGIDA To Hold Monthly Marches In Midlands

Anti-Islam pressure group PEGIDA has vowed to hold monthly protests in the West Midlands this year.

The pledge came as the group staged demonstrations across Europe, with around 200 gathering near Birmingham led by former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson.

They walked almost silently through the heavy rain from Birmingham International station to a nearby business park.

In a clear attempt to distance themselves from previous EDL demonstrations, there was no chanting, face-covering or football colours among the small crowd.

Mr Robinson said: "Europeans are going to take to the streets in mass numbers opposing what is happening to their country, opposing because they don't feel safe ... I want to be the man that orchestrates it here."

Despite the low turnout, he said he hoped the numbers would quickly grow and vowed to return to the same location throughout the year.

:: Anti-Islam Group PEGIDA Launches UK Branch

"People will see that we are silent and respectful and then they will flock to us in the summer," he added.

West Midlands Police deployed large numbers of officers and police dogs to ensure the march remained peaceful and that counter demonstrations could also take place - one at Birmingham International station and another in Birmingham city centre.

Unite Against Fascism said: "This was no breakthrough for the racists. They were rejected by people in Birmingham and their Islamophobia strongly opposed by anti-fascists."

The next protest is planned for the first Saturday in April.

West Midlands Police confirmed that one arrest had been made among the counter demonstration.

A spokeswoman said: "We are aware that protest organisers have intimated their desire to protest again at the site later in the year.

"We have not received any formal notification … we have a duty to facilitate protests as long as they are peaceful and within the law."

PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) also staged rallies in Dresden, Amsterdam, Prague, Warsaw and Calais on Saturday.

In Calais, several far-right demonstrators were detained after clashes with police.

The rally was outlawed earlier this week by the French government after a demonstration last month in support of migrants turned violent.

In the German city of Dresden, an estimated 8,000 people protested against the arrival of hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

Scuffles broke out in central Dublin at PEGIDA's launch in the city.

Dublin City Councillor Ciaran Cuffe tweeted of a "strong security presence".

Some protesters pursued several men they believed to be PEGIDA members from O'Connell Street down onto North Earl Street.