Summary of complaint
We have received complaints from people who felt there was insufficient coverage of an anti far-right march in central London.
Our response
We did cover this march, such as on the BBC News website, where it appeared on the front page. This was also our first story on that evening’s edition of the BBC London News, which reported from the march and spoke to Together Alliance's Weyman Bennett .
Several of those who got in touch have questioned the number of people we said were in attendance. We were clear that the organisers said as many as 500,000 people had attended. The Metropolitan Police, however, estimated the figure to be closer to 50,000, with the caveat that precise figures were hard to determine due to the spread of the crowds. Both numbers were clearly attributed.
Many of those who got in touch also made a comparison to our coverage last year of the Unite The Kingdom march. Decisions on what to cover are made day by day, but we think it is worth noting that some of our reporting around the Unite the Kingdom march centred around the violence that had taken place at that event. At the time, we also reported on the Stand Up to Racism counter-protest which took place nearby.
Many marches and events take place in London as it is the seat of government. We can assure you that any decision about our coverage is made without agenda.