Met Police Urges Protesters: Delay Pro-Palestine March on Armistice Day

The Metropolitan Police has called on organisers of pro-Palestinian demonstrations to postpone any planned protests during the upcoming Armistice Day.

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The police force expressed concerns about potential "violence and disorder" from "breakaway groups". However, one of the main organisers of the march seemed to reject the plea on Monday night.

The government has actively discouraged any demonstrations next weekend, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday, with Rishi Sunak stating that it would be "disrespectful" for such protests to proceed.

Over 70,000 people are expected to attend the central London demonstration on Saturday, coinciding with Armistice Day, as veterans gather at the Cenotaph to honor Britain's war dead.

The protest organisers have pledged to avoid the Whitehall area where the Cenotaph is located.

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Growing Concerns over Violence and Disorder

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, the leader of public order policing in the capital, emphasized that "the risk of violence and disorder linked to breakaway groups is growing," and urged organisers to reconsider the planned protests.

"Our message to organisers is clear: please, we ask you to urgently reconsider. It is not appropriate to hold any protests in London this weekend," Adelekan stated.

Organisers Reject Met Police Statement

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of the march's organisers, expressed deep concern regarding the Met statement, stating that it was "categorically not true" that the police had advised against protesting this weekend. They added, "The idea that it is acceptable for Israel to keep bombing and killing Palestinians in Gaza, including over 4,000 children, but not for people to protest peacefully against these crimes is grotesque."

Home Secretary Suella Braverman welcomed the Met's statement, stating that "decent British people have had enough of these displays of thuggish intimidation and extremism."

Section 13 of the Public Order Act in Focus

Attention will now turn to Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986, which allows the banning of a procession when there is a risk of serious disorder. The Met will need to demonstrate that the threshold for a Section 13 order has been met before seeking approval from the Home Secretary to proceed with a ban.