Free from fear or favour
No tracking. No cookies

Met Police Could U-turn on Gaza Protest Restrictions After Widespread Backlash

Force likely to allow Gaza demonstration near Broadcasting House following criticism from MPs and campaign groups

Thousands of protesters demonstrate outside the BBC in London in response to the corporation’s perceived bias against Palestinian reporting in the Gaza crisis – in 2014. Photo: Lee Thomas/Alamy Live News

Byline Times is an independent, reader-funded investigative newspaper, outside of the system of the established press, reporting on ‘what the papers don’t say’ – without fear or favour.

To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition, packed with exclusive investigations, news, and analysis.

The Met Police appear set to reverse a controversial move to block a protest outside the BBC over reporting on Gaza this Saturday. 

The demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War and other anti-war groups, had been challenged by Jewish figures including the Chief Rabbi for taking place near to the Central Synagogue London on the Jewish day of rest, Shabbat. It is a four minute walk from the BBC’s HQ, New Broadcasting House in Westminster, though not directly on the planned march route.  

The Met Police plan to use conditions under the Public Order Act to prevent the protest at the BBC on Portland Place, on the grounds that it would cause disruption to the synagogue. It is despite the groups claiming the Met Police had verbally agreed to them holding a demonstration outside the BBC in negotiations last November. 

The Met Police has come under heavy scrutiny from all sides over its policing of the Gaza protests, which have been almost weekly since Israel launched its latest offensive on Gaza, following the Hamas terror attacks on October 7th. 

Don’t miss a story

But speaking on Thursday, a source close to the protest organisers said: “It looks as if the police are retreating from their position that [we] can only go to Russell Square…I think they are conceding quite seriously on that.

“[The Met Police] had a meeting this morning where they essentially agreed but said they needed to confirm this. So it looks as if the pressure has succeeded in forcing them to back down.” 

“At the moment, Palestine campaigners are calling on people to come to assembly at Whitehall as agreed.” An announcement is expected on Thursday night.

A statement from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said this week there had “not been a single documented case of threat or incident at a synagogue in relation to the national Palestine marches that have taken place over the last 15 months of the Gaza genocide.” 

Hundreds of political, social and cultural figures have voiced their support for the right for the protest to go ahead outside the BBC. 

The groups argue the BBC is failing to uphold its own editorial guidelines in the reporting of Israel’s actions – including MPs, trade unions leaders, civil society leaders, actors, musicians and artists. 

A letter organised by the Jewish bloc which attends in support of every Palestine March has attracted nearly 900 signatures by members of the Jewish community calling on the Met to reverse its ban. 

ENJOYING THIS ARTICLE? HELP US TO PRODUCE MORE

Receive the monthly Byline Times newspaper and help to support fearless, independent journalism that breaks stories, shapes the agenda and holds power to account.

We’re not funded by a billionaire oligarch or an offshore hedge-fund. We rely on our readers to fund our journalism. If you like what we do, please subscribe.

A group of Holocaust survivors and their descendants have also written a public letter in support of the march. 

A spokesperson for the PSC said the groups were “calling on all those who support an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as well as everyone who believes in the democratic right to protest, to join us in London at 12 noon on Saturday 18 January.”

The groups plan to assemble in Whitehall, whether it is banned or not, to march towards the BBC on Saturday. 

Another source added: “[Things] may be resolving better than we thought.” 

A ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hamas this week, but Israeli air strikes have continued since then and the Israeli Government has suggested the deal has not been finalised. 

In December, some Jewish leaders condemned the Met Police for allowing Palestine protests near synagogues. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: “There can be no justification for not making a clear commitment that the routes of pro-Palestinian marches will not come anywhere close to local synagogues. It is hard to see the absence of such a commitment as anything other than a failure of the Met’s duty to members of Jewish communities who no longer feel safe walking to and from their synagogues on the Sabbath”.

BREAKING

Policing of Pro-Palestine Protests is ‘Racist and Islamophobic’ and Driven By Media and Government Pressure, Report Warns

Policing was driven by politicians and media furore, with pressure on police to ‘do more’ resulting in confused and inconsistent decision-making, Netpol argues

Palestine campaigners say the Met Police then contacted them to say they would not be allowed to march near the BBC. The Met Police say it was unconnected to this public statement. 

On Wednesday evening (15th January), the Met Police put out a statement threatening mass arrests if the protesters marched outside the BBC as planned. 

“Anyone breaching the conditions, or inciting others to do so, is committing an offence. The consequences for doing so include arrest. We don’t want to have to arrest people but we have the resources to do so, including at scale, if we need to,” the statement said. 

They added: “[We] know some reporting has suggested that this is a ban on protests outside the BBC in general. This is absolutely not the case. We recognise why the PSC want[s] to protest at the BBC and we’ve offered to work with them in considering alternative days of the week to do so, where we could be confident that they wouldn’t cause serious disruption to the lives of those attending the synagogue.

“We are also aware of some more recent commentary suggesting that reversing the route should be acceptable because the morning service at the synagogue would have finished.

“The synagogue is in use throughout the day and such a position doesn’t take into account other services and gatherings. The onus should not be on others to change their behaviour, such as leaving by a specific time, in order to accommodate the needs of protest groups.”

A map shows the tightly-limited area where the police are, at time of writing, allowing Gaza protesters to assembly this weekend. They would then be allowed to march to Whitehall but must disperse by 4:30pm and are banned from going near the BBC.

Met Police Demand Protesters Gather in Camden Rather than Westminster

Source: Met Police, 15th January

Map Showing Where Gaza Protesters are Banned from This Saturday

Source: Met Police, 15th January

Left-wing MPs have reacted with fury at the police’s decision to impose such strict conditions. 

London Labour MP Dawn Butler told Byline Times: “I am clear that the Met Police must not interfere with the people’s legitimate right to protest. It is a fundamental part of our democracy to protest, so as long as it is lawful and peaceful, then it should be allowed to go ahead just like any other. 

“We must not lose sight of the fact that people are rightly concerned about the devastation and loss of life they are seeing in Gaza and across the region. People are marching because they feel they must do something – and we must support this right.”

Another Labour MP, Brian Leishman MP, added: “The march organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign this weekend should proceed as planned and previously agreed.

UPDATE

Calls for the Crown to Stop Prosecuting Peaceful Climate Protesters as Prisons Clogged and Criminals are ‘Let Off’

The Government is accused of pushing public bodies to go tougher on protesters

“The right to protest is a cornerstone of any functioning democracy, and it is unacceptable for that right to be undermined. Media organisations such as the BBC must be accountable to the public and must never be shielded from scrutiny.

“This protest is focused on holding the BBC accountable. There is no evidence to suggest that this demonstration represents a threat to anyone attending synagogues nearby.

“Hundreds have spoken out against this ban, showing just how widely these concerns are shared.” He added that blocking the march would “set a dangerous precedent.”

“I urge the Metropolitan Police to reconsider and allow the protest to proceed as planned.”

Nearly 40 MPs have signed a motion in Parliament condemning the behaviour of the Met Police, saying they were “alarmed by attempts by the Metropolitan Police to prevent an agreed march for Palestine from protesting at the BBC.” Signatories include former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Labour MPs Jon Trickett and Clive Lewis, and Green Party MPs including co-leader Carla Denyer. 

Subscribers Get More from JOSIAH

Josiah Mortimer also writes the On the Ground column, exclusive to the print edition of Byline Times.

So for more from him…


Written by

This article was filed under
,