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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/farright-protest-ends-peacefully.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="English Defence League members are watched by mounted police in Luton" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/min-farright-protest-ends-peacefully.jpg" alt="English Defence League members are watched by mounted police in Luton"/></a></p>
<p>A controversial protest by right wing group the English Defence League (EDL) has passed off peacefully amid a huge police presence.</p>
<p>The rally had been billed with the slogan &#8220;Back to Where It All Began&#8221; but the demonstration in Luton &#8211; the town where the group was founded &#8211; petered out without major incident.</p>
<p>The centre of Luton resembled a ghost town before the rally with many shops and pubs opting to close rather than risk becoming a target for protesters.</p>
<p>Around 2,000 EDL supporters, some from far-flung corners of Europe, gathered in the town&#8217;s St George&#8217;s Square for speeches.</p>
<p>At the same time around 1,000 supporters of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) assembled in nearby Park Square for a counter demonstration.</p>
<p>A massive police operation was under way to keep the two sides apart, with more than 1,000 officers on the streets at a cost of more than £800,000.</p>
<p>EDL supporters brandished banners with the slogan &#8220;No more mosques&#8221;, while others chanted &#8220;Muslim bombers off our streets.&#8221;</p>
<p>The demonstration was taking place just hours after Prime Minster David Cameron delivered a speech in Munich in which he declared that multiculturalism had failed in the UK and he called for a &#8220;muscular liberalism&#8221; that challenges Islamist extremism more forcefully.</p>
<p>EDL founder Stephen Lennon, 28, told the crowd: &#8220;There are no racial tensions in Luton, just religious tensions.&#8221; The EDL protesters were branded &#8220;racist thugs&#8221; by Labour MEP Richard Howitt, who spoke at the counter rally.</p>
<p>Police said 19 people received medical treatment, 16 of them were members of the public or protesters &#8211; all injuries are classed as minor. Some were due to sprained ankles or falling over. Three were police officers, all with minor injuries and none thought to be as a result of assaults.</p>
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