A coalition of left-wing firebrands and trade union barons are behind the group spearheading a wave of pro-migrant counter-protests outside asylum seeker hotels.
Activists from Stand Up to Racism have been sent their marching orders ahead of a series of planned demonstrations this weekend.
Fresh rallying cries to ‘stand together against the far right’ have already gone out this week to the campaign group’s army loyal follows on social media.
Meanwhile, other activists have been seen on streets in London handing out fliers urging people to ‘defend refugees’ from controversial right-wing political activist, Tommy Robinson, who they claim is ‘mobilising the far-right’.
Pro-migration supporters have already been involved in the demonstrations outside migrant hotels in Canary Wharf, London this week, and The Bell Hotel in Epping, in Essex, earlier this month.
This week video footage emerged of a group of pro-migrant protesters, carrying placards for Stand Up to Racism, being escorted by police to the The Bell Hotel – where violent clashes later erupted.
Stand Up to Racism, made up of a nationwide network of cells and local bodies, is partly funded by trade unions and led by Diane Abbot, the suspended Labour MP.
It frequently campaigns against individual political figures as well as parties – with the likes of Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage, US President Donald Trump and former Tory immigration minister Robert Jenrick among those to face the group’s wrath.
The organisation, made up of a nationwide network of cells, is partly funded by trade unions and led by Diane Abbot (pictured), the suspended Labour MP
Police officers separate ‘anti-racism’ demonstrators from others protesting outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on July 13
Footage of Essex Police helping counter-demonstrators from a nearby station to the Bell Hotel in Epping on July 17 emerged after the force initially denied offering help
It’s leadership is split across a series of figures and regional heads, who help to co-ordinate protests.
Ms Abbott, 71, is the organisation’s president. The veteran MP was suspended for a second time earlier this month for her controversial comments on racism.
Ms Abbott, who made history in 1987 by becoming the first black woman ever elected to parliament, is facing an investigation after defending a previous claim that Jews experience racism differently than black people.
She made the remark more than two years ago that people of colour experienced racism ‘all their lives’, which was different from the ‘prejudice’ experienced by Jews, the Irish and Travellers.
In a statement to Newsnight following her suspension, Ms Abbott said: ‘It is obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. My comments in the interview … were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept.’
Supporting Ms Abbott in Stand Up to Racism is Daniel Kebede, who is the group’s vice-president.
Mr Kebede is the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU)- which staged a total of 593 days of local teacher walkouts in 2024 and is Britain’s biggest education union.
The education chief hit the headlines earlier this year after demanding ministers bring in a statutory ban on mobile phones in schools.
The National Education Union sparked fears for Jewish pupils after vowing to produce school resources to ‘raise awareness’ of the situation in Palestine (pictured: General Secretary Daniel Kebede)
The NEU voted to develop materials for its half a million members to use in classrooms about the ongoing conflict in Gaza (pictured: a Palestine solidarity protest in 2021 which was attended by NEU members)
Pictured are groups of Stand Up to Racism activists during a march in February 2025 in London
He warned children have access to ‘hardcore pornography’ on their phones which is ‘damaging’ to both boys and girls, and said Keir Starmer must take a stronger stance on outlawing phones from the classroom.
And in April he was forced to defend the NEU after it sparked an ‘anti-Israel’ row following its pledge to produce school resources to ‘raise awareness’ of the war in Palestine.
The union voted to develop materials for its half a million members to use in classrooms about the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
However, one of its own members accused the union of presenting a ‘one-sided’ and ‘anti-Israel’ view, saying the plans could fuel anti-Semitism in schools.
Peter Block, 76, a Jewish NEU member and retired teacher, said: ‘They are trying to filter into the curriculum this one-sided view.
‘It’s anti-Israel. But how is vilification of Israel helping with anti-Semitism?’
The motion said members should attend Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstrations and ‘campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza’ (pictured: NEU branches attending protests about pay)
NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede, who has supported Stand Up to Racism, addressing members at a previous union event
One of the NEU’s own members accused the union of presenting a ‘one-sided’ and ‘anti-Israel’ view, saying the plans could fuel anti-Semitism in schools (pictured: Jewish member Peter Block)
The comments forced a response from Mr Kebede, who denied the NEU was hostile to Jewish members and added that the materials produced would not be biased.
‘Teachers have professional standards. They must teach from an impartial standpoint. Everybody recognises that and this union will only ever advise members on that,’ he said.
‘Whatever we produce will be obviously within the line of the law.’
Others in prominent roles within Stand Up to Racism include railway baron Mick Whelan, who oversaw two years of train strike misery as general secretary of the Aslef union. He currently the ‘anti-racism’ group’s vice-chairman.
Kevin Courtney, Mr Kebede’s predecessor, also sits on the campaign’s committee as a co-chairman.
In March, the campaign group held its annual trade union conference, where speakers included Mr Kebede and Mr Whelan as well as the head of equalities and the anti-racist taskforce chairman at the TUC, Patrick Roach.
Others in prominent roles within Stand Up to Racism include railway baron Mick Whelan (pictured), who oversaw two years of train strikes as general secretary of the Aslef union
Mr Roach is also the general secretary of teaching union NASUWT – and was this year made a CBE by the King for his services to education.
Titles of workshops held over the day included: ‘Return to 1930s: the changing face of fascism and our unions’ (sic) role in fighting it” and ‘Trade Union Network to Stop the Far Right: developing organising online and in the workplace.’
During the event, it is claimed Mr Roach gave a rallying cry to union officials to rail against Nigel Farage’s political party. ‘We can’t defeat Reform without exposing the racism,’ he is reported to have said.
Also involved in the coalition are members of the Green Party in Tower Hamlets, London, who helped stage a ‘small’ counter-protest outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf this week.
The luxury four-star venue is the latest to have been taken over by the Home Office and transformed into a migrant hotel – sparking fury locally.
Tower Hamlets Green Party councillor Nathalie Bienfait took part in the counter rally on Tuesday – where she was told to ‘f*** off’ by an anti-migration protester.
Ms Bienfait claims to have a degree in international and European law from a Dutch university, and a masters in environment and sustainability from Birkbeck, University of London.
She later spent almost five years as a marketing specialist before becoming a councillor in May 2022.
Writing on X about her rally outside the migrant hotel she said: ‘We were holding small signs saying “refugees are welcome” and calling for “safe and legal routes now”.
Green councillor Nathalie Bienfait (pictured) helped stage a counter-protest outside the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf after it was made a migrant hotel
It comes after the venue was turned into a migrant hotel, sparking fierce protests this week
Dozens of police officers were deployed to the Britannia International Hotel in Canary Wharf earlier this week as protests erupted
‘What we can’t do is blame asylum seekers for our failing public services. These are the most vulnerable people in our world and they have no safe or legal routes to this country and also have no choice over where the Home Office puts them.’
One video went viral of her challenging protesters outside the hotel. It showed her being verbally abused, with one protester later saying migrants have ‘got the whole of Europe to go to’.
‘Yeah they’ve got the whole of Europe, but, why should we put that burden on the rest of Europe?’ Ms Bienfait replied. ‘We still have to take responsibility for the fact that we have a lot of stakes in the conflict and climate crisis that causes people be refugees and have to come to another country.’
It’s feared a fresh round of protests could take place at Canary Wharf, Epping and elsewhere in the coming days.
Police chiefs already fear the UK is on the cusp of a summer of violence that forces nationwide would struggle to deal with, due to manpower issues.
Officers could now be dragged away from neighbourhood duties to keep the peace at rallies outside migrant hotels, said Tiff Lynch, head of the Police Federation.
Anti-immigration protesters confront a cordon of riot police officers preventing them from getting near a small group of counter-protesters in Epping on July 17
Bottles and smoke flares thrown towards police vehicles stationed outside The Bell Hotel on July 20
Ms Lynch said officers were being ‘pulled in every direction’ and commanders were ‘forced to choose between keeping the peace at home or plugging national gaps’.
She said if violent protests spread throughout the summer, it would be ‘dangerous to assume’ that police forces would be able to ‘hold the line indefinitely’
‘It would be comical if it weren’t so serious – and so familiar. Local commanders are once again being forced to choose between keeping the peace at home or plugging national gaps,’ she wrote in the Telegraph.
She said Epping was ‘not just a troubling one-off’, adding: ‘It was a signal flare. A reminder of how little it takes for tensions to erupt and how ill-prepared we remain to deal with it.’
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Stand Up to Racism said they were ‘deeply concerned that the recent demonstrations that led to violence and rioting at The Bell Hotel in Epping were not organised by local mums and concerned residents’.
The spokesman continued: ‘They were organised by Neo-Nazi group Homeland, that is seeking to wind up the local community and stir up racism to build a fascist movement.’
They also said the group ‘receives funding from members, affiliates, including trade unions’.
