The tension over plans to hold a pro-Palestine rally on November 11th, Armistice Day, is rising.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have denounced protests and called for this Saturday’s demonstration to be banned, using its coincidence with Armistice Day and the flowing day’s Remembrance Sunday as justification.
The Metropolitan Police will be held “accountable” for pro-Palestinian marches on Armistice Day after the force refused to ban them, Rishi Sunak has said. The prime minister said the decision had been made by Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner. Rowley has said that officers would do all they could to protect remembrance activities and Jewish communities. He also said that the police could not ban static protests under UK law, although they can request the power to stop a march if a threat of serious disorder emerges. But he said the “very high” threshold had not yet been reached.
Sir Mark added that use of the power was “incredibly rare” and there must be no other way for police to manage the event. Indeed, former Metropolitan Police officers have warned that banning the march in central London could inflame tensions and give police bigger problems to deal with,
Britain’s biggest police force is facing scrutiny over its ability to handle a march in the capital which coincides with national commemorations of servicemen and women.
Richard Tice of the Reform Party believes that if there is any threat the military should be brought in to assist.
Richard Tice, Reform UK – Educating Andrew and Bev on GB News 👍 pic.twitter.com/bHXLr21qtI
— 🇬🇧RonEnglish🇬🇧🏴 (@RonEng1ish) November 8, 2023
Tensions are rising
An elderly poppy seller said he was “punched and kicked” as pro-Palestine protesters staged a sit-in at Edinburgh Waverley train station at the weekend…
Tens of thousands of protesters have joined rallies and sit-ins in dozens of towns and cities across the UK to call for an end to Israeli attacks in Gaza. The Metropolitan Police estimate there were 30,000 in central London alone. In London, 29 people were arrested for offences including inciting racial hatred.
At Edinburgh and Glasgow rail stations, and at London’s Charing Cross, people sat on the floor stopping travellers from catching trains, police said.