Activists gather in Parliament square for the national day of action (Image: Getty Images)
A mass rally in support of Palestine will draw thousands to central London on Saturday after police blocked plans for a march past the BBC and close to a synagogue.
And one senior figure within the Jewish community has admitted his bafflement at the decision to press ahead with the protest at all, given the ceasefire which comes into force in Gaza tomorrow.
The Met has denied putting a “ring of steel” around Broadcasting House as the forces said police would be posted nearby after preventing plans by protesters targeting the BBC to gather in Portland Place.
However, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan acknowledged that more than 1,100 officers were due to be deployed, with 200 coming from other forces.
The Met stopped the march from their proposed meeting point due to Broadcasting House’s close proximity to a synagogue and the consequent risk of protest causing “serious disruption” to the Jewish holy day, with congregants attending Shabbat services.
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A counter protest near Piccadilly Circus last month (Image: PA)
The demonstration will instead consist of a static rally in Whitehall.
The force also said a woman had been arrested for inciting others to breach the force’s restrictions.
A 61-year-old woman was arrested on Friday on suspicion of inciting others to breach Public Order Act conditions after she was allegedly heard at a rally on January 10 encouraging other protesters to do so, police said.
The Met said further investigations into other allegations of inciting people to breach conditions are ongoing.
There’s a ceasefire now, but the Gaza mob is *still* marching tomorrow. And they are *still* insisting on going past synagogues, even though it is disrupting Jewish life and there are five other routes they could use. What’s their true motivation? For shame pic.twitter.com/yltjQVBien
— Jake Wallis Simons (@JakeWSimons) January 17, 2025
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is understood to be confident that none of its supporters will breach the conditions imposed by police.
Questioned on whether the Met was putting a ring of steel around Broadcasting House, he said: “I wouldn’t describe it as a ring of steel.
“What I would describe it as is a visible presence of officers in and around the BBC/Portland Place area and surrounding streets.
“Firstly, their role is to engage with people, make sure people understand the conditions that are around there, and generally do their policing duties as they would do every day.
“If anyone is considering breaching those conditions, we have brought officers in from other forces, eight other forces, to assist – so we have got significant forces to enforce any breaches of conditions.”
Speaking on Sky News on Friday, Jake Wallis Simons, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, said were seven possible routes which the Palestinian activists could march along, of which two went past synagogues, and five did not.
He added: “Those synagogues have had to suffer marches going past week after week. Attendance there is down by 50% some weeks they have had to cancel events, cancel celebrations.
“One synagogue was besieged by marches for a period before eventually the police moved them on. They’ve been spat at, had flags draped across them and so forth, so a very intimidating atmosphere.”
Police had consequently said they wanted Palestinian activists to use the five routes that did not pass the synagogues on a Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath.
He said: “That has been met with fury from the Palestinian activists, who have vowed, some of them, to resist this request by the police by all means necessary.
“And I think that this just really goes to the heart of what’s motivating these marches, if it really was out of concern for Palestinian human rights, out of concern for the casualties of war in Gaza then they would have no problem, marching somewhere else, one of the five other routes throughout London and not pass by the synagogues, because they wouldn’t have anything against Jews going about their business, families, old people in London.
“However, the fact they’ve been furiously resisting this request by the police really says a lot about them, I think.”
There is a condition in place preventing anyone involved in the PSC protest from entering a defined area around Portland Place.
Officers have been deployed since early this morning to ensure that condition is not breached. pic.twitter.com/sYW0UQMjVd
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) January 18, 2025
Commenting on the clip, which he shared on X, Mr Wallis Simons added: “There’s a ceasefire now, but the Gaza mob is *still* marching tomorrow. And they are *still* insisting on going past synagogues, even though it is disrupting Jewish life and there are five other routes they could use. What’s their true motivation?”
On Thursday, senior Conservative MP Bob Blackman said those who defy police orders by deliberately gathering outside a synagogue should face the “full force of the law”.
The PSC described the Met’s conditions as “repressive”, saying: “We reiterate our call for the police to lift the repressive restrictions they have imposed and allow us to march.
“If they continue to refuse to do so and prevent us from marching, we will rally on Whitehall in protest.”
In a statement, Campaign Against Antisemitism claimed pro-Palestine marches posed a “threat” to synagogues.
A spokesperson said: “It is shameful that the Met has refused to act on that threat all this time and is mustering a show of strength only now that it appears that the war might be ending.
“The least that it can do is see this tokenistic gesture through and finally limit these marches to static protests, as we have been urging for over a year.”
In its own statement, charity Community Security Trust, which aims to provide safety to Jewish people, said of the planned protest: “We have been working closely with the police and with affected Jewish community locations to put sufficient security in place so that services and other activities can go ahead in safety tomorrow.”
Express.co.uk has contacted the PSC for comment in response to Mr Wallis Simons’ remarks.