The latest pro-Palestinian march by hundreds of thousands of protesters through central London ends with a rally near Downing Street following a crackdown by the Metropolitan Police.
After a meeting late Thursday afternoon, march organizers announced they had received permission to hold the final stage of Saturday’s demonstration in Whitehall.
Just hours earlier, the Metropolitan District said the “scale and frequency of the marches” was causing serious disruption and it would not support requests for an extension to the march to Whitehall.
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which has been negotiating with the Metropolitan Museum of Art over the march, said the U-turn took place Thursday at a meeting at 4:45 p.m.
However, requests for two end rallies, including one in Trafalgar Square, were refused, with the Metropolitan Transport Authority claiming it had fewer resources to police protests than on previous march days.
Jamal said he was concerned that this would make the protests less safe, but that march leaders would try to control the crowds.
He said previous claims about the Whitehall endpoint that police had failed to consult with “local stakeholders” such as public offices and commercial businesses no longer appeared to be a factor in the Met’s analysis. Stated.
“We said people were going to go to Whitehall anyway because the last demonstration was over,” he said. “They would not agree to a second stage and we made it clear that this would increase the risk. Their rationale was that they did not have the resources to manage two stages. did.”
An estimated 300,000 demonstrators are expected to march from the BBC’s headquarters in Portland Place to Whitehall from midday on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transport Authority rejected a request to cancel a march on Whitehall, a gathering point regularly used by people protesting events in Gaza.
Jamal claimed that the Metropolitan Transport Authority had bowed to pressure from the government to restrict the march, which began after the outbreak of the Gaza war sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people. Was.
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Deputy Chief Constable Matt Ward, who heads up policing, said: ‘We respect people’s right to protest, but so do other Londoners and visitors.
“I understand that the repeated protests since October have had a cumulative impact on businesses, residents and people wishing to travel to the West End.
“Striking the balance between competing rights can be difficult, but we intend to do so independently, impartially, and always within the law.”
A spokesperson for the Stop the War coalition said: “We are pleased to report that the police have relented and agreed that the February 3rd march will end in Whitehall, the seat of government.” . We would like to thank all those who pressed to secure this important victory for the right to protest.
“However, the police did not agree to the second stage request. We have made it clear that this will make the task of ensuring public safety even more difficult.
“For more than three months, those marching for justice and peace have been met with intimidation and the imposition of repressive measures aimed at suppressing support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom and justice. We will not allow this to stop our march or distract from our core message.”