Braverman accuses police of 'playing favourites' with pro-Palestine protesters

Home secretary Suella Braverman accused police of “playing favourites” with protesters as a pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day looked set to go ahead.

Mrs Braverman claimed “pro-Palestinian mobs” are “largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law”.

Earlier, the prime minister accepted that the planned march on Saturday would go ahead despite opposition from himself and the home secretary. The climbdown from Rishi Sunak comes after he vowed to hold the Metropolitan Police commissioner “accountable” for his decision to greenlight the march.

The prime minister met Sir Mark Rowley to discuss the issue on Wednesday, with the Met coming under intense political pressure over the march through the streets of the capital on Saturday.

Sir Mark said intelligence surrounding the potential for serious disorder this weekend does not meet the threshold to apply to prohibit the march.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Sunak said the planned protest on Armistice Day is “not just disrespectful but offends our heartfelt gratitude to the memory of those who gave so much so that we may live in freedom and peace today”.

ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston discusses whether the prime minister's latest comments represent something akin to a climbdown

But he acknowledged that “part of that freedom is the right to peacefully protest”.

“And the test of that freedom is whether our commitment to it can survive the discomfort and frustration of those who seek to use it, even if we disagree with them. We will meet that test and remain true to our principles.”

Writing in The Times, Mrs Braverman said: “I do not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza.

“They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups — particularly Islamists — of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland. Also disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday’s march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas.”

Mrs Braverman claimed “there is a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters”.

She said: “Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law?

“I have spoken to serving and former police officers who have noted this double standard.

“Football fans are even more vocal about the tough way they are policed as compared to politically connected minority groups favoured by the left.

“It may be that senior officers are more concerned with how much flak they are likely to get than whether this perceived unfairness alienates the majority. The Government has a duty to take a broader view.”

Responding to the article, Labour MP Jess Philips said: “Braverman makes our country less safe, not satisfied with inflaming tensions in London she thought she’d also light a match under Northern Ireland relations. No right thinking Prime Minister would stand by her let alone approve her copy.”

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said Ms Braverman "is running a Conservative party leadership campaign, not the Home Office" as he described her as "the most disastrous and reckless Home Secretary of modern times."

"The Home Secretary's desire to stoke divisions and ramp up tensions in this way is irresponsible and dangerous. Instead of working with the police, she is doing everything in her power to make their already challenging jobs harder," he added.

"This government by press release has made her the most disastrous and reckless Home Secretary of modern times."

Mrs Braverman’s article is her latest high-profile intervention, with ministers in recent days seeking to distance themselves from some of her comments.

She has described the protests as “hate marches” and also claimed some people were homeless as a “lifestyle choice”.

Earlier, Mr Sunak said police had confirmed the march will not be near the Cenotaph on Whitehall and timings will not conflict with remembrance events.

But the prime minister added: “There remains the risk of those who seek to divide society using this weekend as a platform to do so.“

"That is what I discussed with the Metropolitan Police commissioner in our meeting.

“The commissioner has committed to keep the Met Police’s posture under constant review based on the latest intelligence about the nature of the protests.”

There have been fears that breakaway groups from the main march and counter-protests by far-right groups could lead to violence.

Earlier, Mr Sunak said the Met chief had insisted he could “ensure that we safeguard remembrance for the country this weekend as well as keep the public safe”.

“Now, my job is to hold him accountable for that,” Mr Sunak said ahead of the meeting with Sir Mark.

No 10 denied Mr Sunak was seeking to pile pressure on Sir Mark, with the prime minister’s spokesman saying: “No, that’s part and parcel of how government and the Met operate.

“The Met are operationally independent, it’s the job of the prime minister and the government to hold them to account for their approach.”

Mr Sunak came under fire from Sir Keir, who tweeted: “Remembrance events must be respected. Full stop.

“But the person the PM needs to hold accountable is his Home Secretary. Picking a fight with the police instead of working with them is cowardice.”

Senior Labour MP John McDonnell, who will attend the protest, urged the prime minister not to “politicise” the Met by “interfering” with its decision over the “march for peace and a ceasefire”.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: "No one disputes that Remembrance events must be protected, but the policing of protests are operational decisions for the Met, not the Home Secretary. "The government should be supporting the Met and our hard-working officers, not making their job more difficult."

In a statement on Tuesday, Sir Mark said: “The laws created by Parliament are clear. There is no absolute power to ban protest, therefore there will be a protest this weekend.”

He added that use of the power to block moving protests is “incredibly rare” and must be reserved for cases where there is intelligence to suggest a “real threat” of serious disorder.

He said organisers of Saturday’s rally have shown “complete willingness to stay away from the Cenotaph and Whitehall and have no intention of disrupting the nation’s remembrance events”.

“Should this change, we’ve been clear we will use powers and conditions available to us to protect locations and events of national importance at all costs.”

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, who is Jewish, called for the force to keep the “very provocative” march “under review”.

The Met had urged march organisers to “urgently reconsider” the event on Saturday because of a growing risk of violence, but the pro-Palestinian coalition behind it have refused to call it off.

The force could request the power to ban the event under Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986, but that would only apply if there was the threat of serious public disorder which could not be controlled by other measures.

There are concerns that breakaway groups from the main march could look for trouble, while counter-demonstrations may add to policing difficulties.

The planned route for the London march goes from Hyde Park – about a mile from the war memorial in Whitehall – to the US embassy in Vauxhall, south of the Thames.

The Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, which will be attended by the King and Queen and other members of the royal family, will take place on Saturday.

Remembrance Sunday events will take place at the Cenotaph in Westminster the following day.

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