Oxford Union debate on Islam sparks protests, road closures

Protests and counterprotests unfolded in Oxford on Wednesday, June 17, as the Oxford Union debating society hosted a controversial event featuring activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, widely known as Tommy Robinson. The debate, on the motion "This House Believes the West is right to be Suspicious of Islam," drew over a hundred demonstrators who clashed with a smaller group of supporters, leading to a significant police operation and road closures in the city center.

The event, which also featured speakers Laurence Fox and Jonathan Sacerdoti supporting the motion, with former Conservative MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, activist Abdullah al Andalusi, and podcaster Michael Doward opposing it, had been postponed from late May following public outcry. Protesters gathered on New Inn Hall Street and Cornmarket Street, chanting slogans such as "Oxford Union, shame, shame" and "racist scum off our streets," while holding signs reading "No platform for fascist Yaxley-Lennon." A separate group of counterprotesters waved Union Jack flags. The two sides were kept apart by a police cordon, though minor incidents occurred, including some protesters booing officers and appearing to throw water.