Tommy Robinson remanded in custody ahead of court date

The move to detain Mr Yaxley-Lennon comes less than 24 hours before a major policing operation to contain potentially thousands of his supporters.

For weeks, and posting from abroad, he had been urging them to come to London on Saturday, claiming that the state was trying to silence him for speaking out about the impact of immigrants on the UK.

Metropolitan Police commanders have put in place a significant operation to contain the protest and separate it from a counter-demonstration.

Both the Met and British Transport Police are due to be supported by officers from other forces across the country. The Met said there would be a “significant police presence” to ensure the two groups were kept apart.

It is not clear how many people will attend but a similar gathering in London in July saw thousands of Robinson supporters in Trafalgar Square.

The activist, who founded the now-defunct English Defence League, has been accused by critics of whipping up tensions during the summer’s riots.

Mr Yaxley-Lennon has not been charged with any offences relating to the disturbances.