Anti-Israel protesters pushed through police lines and defied police conditions for a London march’s route on Saturday, the Metropolitan Police said, with 77 people being arrested during the unrest.
The MET had on Wednesday set a route and time for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) protest march to the BBC so that it would not come close to a synagogue during Shabbat services, but protests began an hour earlier and convened on Saturday at the endpoint of Whitehall rather than the starting point at Russel Square.
A police line north of Whitehall was broken through just after noon, with protesters forcing their way into Trafalgar Square, the MET said. They were reportedly prevented from going further by another police line and two vans. A group of around 60 was arrested when they attempted to leave Trafalgar Square.
Officers arrested a protest organizer who they say was leading the rogue marching group from the front. Islington MP Jeremy Corbyn on social media identified the protest leader as Stop the War Coalition chief steward Chris Nineham.
PSC and Corbyn denied the police account of events, asserting that Nineham was arrested when coalition leaders walked toward the British Broadcasting Corporation to protest its supposed pro-Israel news coverage of the Israel-Hamas War and police restrictions on the demonstrations.
The group that forced its way through the police line is now held at the north west corner of Trafalgar Square. Anyone in that group should now disperse and leave the area. Anyone remaining in breach of the conditions, or inciting further breaches, will be arrested. pic.twitter.com/kzPf7Lu786
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) January 18, 2025
Protesters' demands
Activists were carrying flowers to commemorate the deaths of Palestinian children and sought to lay them down at Trafalgar Square, said Corbyn. The MP wrote on X/Twitter that the protesters did not force their way through but were allowed by officers.
“I was part of a delegation of speakers, who wished to peacefully carry and lay flowers in memory of children in Gaza who had been killed,” said Corbyn. “This was facilitated by the police. We did not force our way through. When we reached Trafalgar Square, we informed police that we would go no further, lay down flowers, and disperse. At that point, the chief steward, Chris Nineham was arrested.”
The MET said there were clear warnings issued for the protesters to disperse, and had CCTV footage, officer bodycams, and social media videos to identify instigators. MET Commander Adam Slonecki said he was confident there was a coordinated effort to breach the police lines, with an organizer inciting the crowd and camera crews arriving at Portland Place when the marchers attempted to pass police lines.
“We have policed more than 20 national protests organized by the PSC since October 2023,” said Slonecki. “This is the highest number of arrests we have seen, in response to the most significant escalation in criminality.
A total of 65 people were arrested for breach of conditions, five for public order offenses, and two for obstructing police. One man was arrested for a placard that indicated support for Hamas and Hezbollah, which are proscribed terrorist organizations. Another person was arrested for inciting racial hatred for a sign that paired a swastika with the Israeli flag.
No officers were injured, but three were spat at when they intervened. The MET listed arrests for assault during the unrest, including for common assault, assaulting an emergency worker, and one sexual assault.
On Friday, a 61-year-old woman was arrested for inciting others to breach the public order act conditions imposed by police after discussions with PSC failed to produce a mutually agreed upon protest route. She will appear before court next month and was out on bail under the condition that she could not attend the Saturday event.
The protest had originally been organized to protest against the BBC’s supposed pro-Israel news coverage of the Israel-Hamas War, but PSC said on social media Saturday that the demonstration had become in part a rally for the right to protest. PSC had called on police to remove their restrictions in a statement on Friday, stating that they had resisted “police attempts to force us to assemble at Russell Square.”
The Muslim Association of Britain said on Saturday that the police restrictions were “heavy-handed” and had repressed freedom of assembly and expression.
“Silencing peaceful protesters who stand against genocide and in solidarity with the oppressed is not only undemocratic but shameful,” said the association. “The right to protest is not a privilege – it is a fundamental right, and any attempt to curtail it must be met with unrelenting condemnation.”
PSC director Ben Jamal said that since the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage deal on Wednesday, the activists sought “ongoing demands.”
Demands by PSC included the full withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Gaza, the release of all prisoners of war and terrorists held by Israel, and the end of the blockade against the Hamas-ruled Strip.
“Beyond all of that, we need the root causes of this to be addressed,” said Jamal. “And we need an end to British complicity with 76 years of Israel’s imposition of a system of apartheid.”
Jamal said the police were trying to force a protest plan by “Zionist groups that supported Israel’s genocide.”
The Jewish community, including British Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, had issued criticism of the MET and expressed concern that the protesters could threaten the synagogue and worshipers. The MET imposed the new conditions after restricting an area around the synagogue last Thursday, saying the original PSC march would form too close to a local synagogue when Jewish congregants would be attending Shabbat services.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a statement of support for the MET on X, arguing that “Everyone should be able to worship in peace.”
The Community Security Trust said on Saturday night that thanks to the police, the community could attend Shabbat services peacefully.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews said on X, “The behavior demonstrated on Whitehall serves to emphasize that the correct decision was taken to prevent such a demonstration within a few hundred meters of a synagogue.”