Met sets out policing plan ahead of central London protests on Saturday

Officers will be on duty across central London tomorrow ahead of two planned protests.

Events have been organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the pro-Israel group Enough is Enough. A third event that was expected to take place, organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, has been cancelled.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, who is responsible for public order policing, said: “Our objectives this weekend are to police without fear or favour, to protect the right to protest and to keep the peace. All Londoners have a right to have their voices heard, just as they also have a right to go about their lives without fear and without being subject to serious disruption.

“The cumulative impact of almost seven months of protest is felt widely, but it has been a particular cause of fear and uncertainty in Jewish communities. While there has been a Jewish presence on many of the PSC marches, there are many more Jewish people who do not travel into the centre of London on protest days, or who avoid the tube, hide their identities or otherwise change their behaviour. It is a reality that should concern us all.

“I know there are people who feel the solution is to see these protests banned. The bar for such a decision is incredibly high – it requires a risk of serious public disorder of the sort we simply haven’t seen either in this period of protest or for several years.

“But while we cannot apply for protests to be banned in the current circumstances, we can use powers under the Public Order Act and other legislation to impose conditions on marches and assemblies in an effort to prevent serious disruption, to keep those with opposing views apart and to ensure wider public safety.”

Expected events

A march organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) will form up at Parliament Square from midday, setting off at 12.30pm on a route via Whitehall, Piccadilly and Park Lane before ending in Hyde Park where speeches will take place.

A static demonstration by the pro-Israel Enough is Enough group will take place in Pall Mall, at the same time as and along the route of the PSC march. Similar events have taken place alongside three previous PSC marches.

A third event, a ‘walk’ organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, was due to take place from midday until 2pm. On Friday afternoon the organisers confirmed the event would not take place.

We understand the event may be rescheduled to another date. Our officers will engage with the organisers to ensure there is a policing plan in place that means it can happen safely, recognising the increased concerns of many of those likely to be taking part.

Policing approach

This will be the 13th national protest organised by the PSC since their first protest on 9th October, in addition to a number of local protests.

The main protests have ranged in size from 300,000 at the highest point, to around 5-10,000 in recent months.

44,722 Met officer shifts have been dedicated to the policing of these events. We have had to bring in officers from around the country on a number of occasions, using up an additional 9,679 officer shifts.  6,339 officer rest days have been cancelled.  

The cost of the protest policing operation, so far, sits at around £38.4m.  

There have so far been 415 arrests during protests. 193 of these have been for antisemitic offences.  

The majority of the antisemitic offences have been in relation to placards, chanting or other expressions of hate speech. There have also been other arrests for more typical public order offences as well as assault, obstruction and other disorder.  

In addition, there have also been 15 terrorism arrests at protests which is unheard of previously. The majority of these have been on suspicion of support for proscribed organisations, namely Hamas. 

Just yesterday a man was convicted at court for wearing a headband at a protest that was seen as a gesture of support for Hamas.

Conditions

Since October, we’ve used the proactive imposition of conditions under the Public Order Act more extensively than during any other period of protest in recent memory.

We’ve been able to control the route of protests, their duration, their start and finish times, the details of any static assemblies and the ability of those involved to get near to sensitive sites or into communities where fears are most heightened.

Conditions can be imposed either in advance of an event or by the senior officer present during an event.

On Saturday, the following conditions will be in place:

Anyone taking part in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign march must stick to the pre-agreed route shown on the map below. The march must not set off before 12:30hrs.

Those taking part must not enter the area shown in red on the map below which is the immediate vicinity of the Israeli Embassy.

The stage for the static assembly in Hyde Park at the end of the march must be positioned in the spot shown on the map below. Speeches must finish by 16:00hrs and participants must have dispersed by 17:00hrs.

Anyone taking part in the ‘Enough is Enough’ protest must remain in the area shown on the map below. Their protest must not start before 12:00hrs and must conclude by 17:00hrs.