Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says pro-Palestinian protests won't 'collide or interfere' with Remembrance events

Britain's most senior officer has faced criticism over the policing of the demonstrations in London.

Henry Vaughan

Home affairs reporter and feature writer

Thursday 2 November 2023 14:52, UK

The Metropolitan Police chief has promised protest marches in the capital "won't collide or interfere" with Remembrance events.

Sir Mark Rowley has faced criticism over his force's policing of pro-Palestinian demonstrations which have seen hundreds of thousands of people take to London's streets amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

He told London Assembly members between 60 and 70 arrests have so far been made in connection with the protests, while the latest saw some 2,000 officers on duty last weekend.

Asked about his policing plans for the upcoming remembrance weekend, Sir Mark said the events in Whitehall and Westminster Abbey are of "national significance".

"We will ensure that if there is a march that weekend it will not collide with or interfere with that, so of course we will absolutely do that," he said.

"That's why we always encourage people leading protests to speak to us beforehand and help us help them plan them so they can do something sensible to meet their aims without causing unreasonable disruption to others."

He said the Met was "constantly managing tensions" and suggested conditions could be imposed similar to those used to keep protesters away from the Israeli embassy.

Sir Mark said remembrance commemorations are a "national moment of reflection and remembrance" and insisted: "We will ensure the security of that event from all sorts of threats and risks, including any problems caused by a protest, planned or spontaneous."

It comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman described the pro-Palestinian protests as "hate marches", while Mayor of London Sadiq Khan criticised her comments as "posturing" that could divide communities.

While many of the protesters have been calling for an end to the airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, some incidents have surfaced.

They include a man filmed shouting "jihad" during a demonstration by the Hizb ut-Tahrir Islamist group, which was separate to the main rally.

There was also criticism after a stage was erected near the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

Sir Mark previously told Sky News there was a "gap" in the law when it comes to extremism, and there was "scope to be much sharper" in legislation to tackle it.

He told assembly members that since the 7 October Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, counter-terrorism officers have received almost 2,000 referrals of "highly concerning" online content.

They have resulted in more than 250 Met investigations over material potentially being from British citizens which may cross the terrorism threshold for supporting a proscribed organisation, he said.