Met Police urge calm during central London pro-Palestine march and counter protest

People taking part in Stop the Genocide in Gaza national demonstration in Trafalgar Square, central London. Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

Protesters involved in a central London pro-Palestinian march must not “cross the line into criminality”, the Metropolitan Police has warned, as new powers to prevent “disruptive” protests come into force.

Protestors assembled outside the Home Office in Marsham Street to march towards Downing Street for the Al Quds Day demonstration.

The annual rally – organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in support of Palestine – has been criticised in the past after participants flew flags of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group and brandished signs with allegedly antisemitic messages.

The Met said while its powers “do not extend to policing taste and decency”, it would take action if the “line into criminality is crossed”, including the use of hate speech or supporting a proscribed group.

At the same time, a pro-Israel counter-protest is to be held in Parliament Square. The pro-Palestinian march will pass by on its route to Whitehall.

The demonstrations come on the same day new public order powers to prevent “serious disruption” at protests come into force.

Serious Disruption Prevention Orders are court orders that can impose restraints on individuals who have committed protest-related offences on at least two occasions, potentially banning them from being in certain areas or being with protest groups at given times.

The Met said they cannot police ‘taste and decency’ but will take action if the ‘line into criminality is crossed’ Credit: Yui Mok/PA

Commander Colin Wingrove, who is leading the policing operation on Friday, said: “The rights of people to express their views through protest must be protected, and our officers will ensure they are, but anyone who abuses those rights and uses them as an opportunity to commit offences or to promote hate can expect to face police action.”

He added the Met had been in contact with the organisers of both demonstrations to ensure their events “remain within the law”, adding that the force will “police without fear or favour right up to the line of the law”.

The Met says it has imposed conditions under the Public Order Act, restricting the Al Quds Day march to a pre-agreed route and confining both protests to designated areas.

In a joint letter to Met Commissioner Mark Rowley on Wednesday, the IHRC and other pro-Palestinian groups accused the Met of “politically-driven policing”, saying the force had “regularly abused its legal powers to harass pro-Palestine protesters”.

On Saturday, the Met made four arrests, including one on suspicion of a terrorism-related offence, at a pro-Palestinian protest in central London, which saw more than 200,000 people take part.