POLICE powers are being used to "shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny", MPs have said.
It comes after a protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) outside the BBC's headquarters in Portland Place was prevented from going ahead this weekend. The Met Police claimed it would breach conditions imposed under the Public Order Act.
Campaigners have said they are “determined” that the demonstration will still go ahead, as talks with the Met Police are set to take place on Tuesday.
In the latest development, former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell has submitted an Early Day Motion in Westminster calling on the Met Police to drop restrictions and allow the march to take place.
McDonnell, now an independent MP, submitted the motion on the “right to protest outside the BBC” – which has since been signed by MPs including independent MP Jeremy Corbyn, the SNP’s Brendan O’Hara, and Scottish Labour’s Brian Leishman.
The motion, which has gathered 28 MPs' signatures as of 5.30pm on Tuesday, states that the House is “alarmed” by the Met Police’s decision to revoke approval for the march, rejecting claims that the march could cause disruption to a nearby synagogue.
It adds that MPs believe “that the BBC is rightly accountable to the public and that police powers should not be used to shield it from democratic scrutiny”.
The motion further "notes that since these restrictions were announced nearly 200 MPs, trade union and civil society leaders and groups including Amnesty International UK and Liberty, Holocaust survivors and their descendants, lawyers, journalists and prominent cultural figures as well as over 700 members of the British Jewish community have spoken out in support of the right to protest; and, therefore, calls on the Government to urge the Metropolitan Police to drop these repressive restrictions and allow the planned protest to take place at the BBC".
'People should have the right to protest at the BBC'
Speaking to The National, McDonnell said there has been a “growing concern about the BBC’s coverage of events in Gaza”, meaning people should have the right to protest outside the corporation’s headquarters.
He said: “There is a long standing right to protest to enable people to express their views peacefully. The demonstrations on Palestine have been peaceful and supported by huge numbers of people.
“This demonstration will be focussed on the call for peace and the recognition of the Palestinian state but there has been a growing concern about the BBC’s coverage of events in Gaza and so people should have the right to protest at the BBC.
“No public institution should have special protections that undermine this right to peaceful protest.”
Corbyn (below) said pro-Palestine demonstrations were "united in a demand for peace".
He told The National: “Week after week, our marches reflect the ongoing outrage felt by millions of ordinary people over the appalling loss of human life.
“We are demonstrating because we want to see an end to our government’s complicity in genocide, as well as our media’s abject failure to hold Israeli and British officials to account.
“We will not be cowed by cynical attempts to divide a multicultural and multi-faith movement for Palestine.”
Meanwhile, Leishman (below) – Scottish Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth – said: “The march organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign this weekend should go ahead as the right to protest should be at the heart of any functioning democracy.
“I fully support this and the early day motion raised at Westminster.
“All media outlets should be held accountable for the content they produce and broadcast and should never be shielded from scrutiny.”
Since the demonstration was axed by the Met Police, more than 800 members of the British Jewish community have signed an open letter calling for the Met Police to reverse its “ban”.
Ben Jamal, director of the PSC, accused the BBC of being “complicit” in Israel’s actions in Gaza, which has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said the new route advertised by campaigners was not the one which was originally approved in November, adding that it could cause disruption at a nearby synagogue – which campaigners say is not on the route.
The spokesperson added: “We imposed those conditions because we were satisfied, after carefully considering the evidence, that a demonstration forming up in the vicinity of a synagogue on a Saturday, when congregants would be attending Shabbat services, would cause serious disruption.
“Our assessment is that a demonstration ending and dispersing from the same place would have the same impact.
“Officers will be meeting with the PSC and other organisers [on Tuesday] to discuss the matter further.
“We are aware that our decision to impose conditions has been presented by some as us banning a demonstration at the BBC.
“This is not accurate. We recognise why the organisers wish to protest at the BBC and we have offered to work with them in considering alternative days of the week that wouldn’t result in disruption to Shabbat services.”
Campaigners have criticised the BBC's reporting on Gaza, as we told how the broadcaster issued more corrections for its coverage of Israel and Palestine than any other topic in 2024.
