Protesters have begun assembling for a pro-Palestinian rally in London that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands on Saturday, while police have jostled with far-right groups attempting to reach the Cenotaph.
Organisers say that the pro-Palestine march, which has been the backdrop to a political row over Suella Braverman’s public criticism of the policing of protests, could be one of the biggest political marches in British history.
Earlier on Saturday morning, hundreds of members of the far right gathered by the Cenotaph on Whitehall, with the former English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, among a number of far-right figures present. Some of them explicitly stated that they had come because of Braverman’s comments over pro-Palestinian “hate marches”, claiming that police treated them unfavourably compared to “politically correct minority groups”.
In the buildup to the two-minute silence, elements of the crowd broke down metal gates to get closer to the Cenotaph. Later, dozens of those present could be seen – some holding Israeli flags – attempting to reach the pro-Palestinian march with the Met’s territorial support group intercepting them.
In a statement posted on X, the Metropolitan police said: “A group of counter protesters who left Whitehall and moved into Chinatown confronted and threw missiles at officers who tried to engage with them.
“Additional officers have been deployed to the area to identify, locate and deal with those involved. Our priority is keeping the public safe. We will not tolerate disorder in central London today.”
More than 2,000 police officers will be on duty for a “significant” operation across remembrance weekend, the Met said on Friday, with 1,000 officers called up from outside the capital.
People joining the pro-Palestine march began assembling at about midday at Park Lane, before starting to march at 12.45pm.
“We invite all people of conscience to join us in peacefully marching,” said a spokesperson for one of the organisers of the march, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, adding that the group was working with police to ensure public safety. “More than 500,000 people are expected to converge in London, making it one of the largest political marches in British history,” they said.
The Met police commissioner, Mark Rowley, vowed “at all costs” to stop any disruption linked to the march, which will be held on Armistice Day.
Protesters who diverge from the agreed route from Hyde Park face a fine of up to £2,500, and exclusion zones have been set up across the capital. No-go areas include the Cenotaph, which will have a 24-hour police presence, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and the Westminster Abbey Field of Remembrance – anyone associated with the pro-Palestinian movement could be arrested if they try to assemble in these places.
Protests planned at a number of London train stations have been banned, with orders in place prohibiting trespassory assembly at Waterloo, Victoria and Charing Cross between 10am and 11pm on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the Met said: “We’ll be using an extensive set of powers to prevent any disruption whatsoever to Remembrance events, policing the demonstration as it passes through parts of the capital, while protecting our communities from those intent on inciting hate, violence and disorder.”
Rowley has spent the past week defying calls from politicians for a ban on the event and insisting there was insufficient intelligence that there would be a risk of serious public disorder.
Public order units and other response sections of the Met have had their leave cancelled as police redirect resources to the march.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday morning, Theresa Villiers, the Conservative MP for Chipping Barnet, said she had hoped the march would be cancelled but now hoped it would proceed peacefully. “I do recognise that the police have been very clear that they don’t have the power within the law to do that, so the important thing now is to make sure the march goes off peacefully,” she said.
Nicholas Soames, a former Conservative minister and a grandson of Winston Churchill, said that while he understood some of the concerns around the march, he had confidence in the police. He stressed that those who died in the first world war died for freedoms such as the right to protest.
“This is the weekend that we commemorate at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month the life and death of all those who died in defence of our country and in the cause of freedom. This is what they died for – the right to protest,” Soames told the Today programme.
Stressing that “nothing can ever forgive what Hamas did”, Soames went on to call for a ceasefire. “The British government are quite right to support Israel in its moment of agony but surely there comes a moment when the terror that is being dispensed by the Israelis to the [Palestinian] civilians … children dying in great numbers … that the moment really has come for a far greater effort, involving Britain, to secure a ceasefire,” he said.
“I think it is the moment for ceasefire – I think that this has gone on enough.”
Since Hamas triggered the war with Israel on 7 October by killing 1,200 people and taking approximately 240 hostages, there have been a series of marches and assemblies in London and around the UK calling for a ceasefire. The largest so far attracted 100,000 people, according to police.
As well as the protest taking place in the capital, pro-Palestine demonstrations are taking place across Scotland on Saturday, with ceasefire marches in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee, Forres and Dumfries.
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, said he had been assured by Rowley that the Met would be able to “safeguard Remembrance for the country this weekend as well as keep the public safe” and talked of holding Britain’s most senior police chief “accountable” in the event of disaster.
Writing in the Times on Wednesday, Braverman claimed there was a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters, with “pro-Palestinian mobs” and “hate marchers” treated more leniently than rightwing and nationalist protesters.
The article was not authorised by Downing Street, although the ministerial code holds that the “policy content and timing” of all speeches, press releases and initiatives should be cleared with No 10.
On Friday, Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, joined other ministers in distancing himself from the views expressed by Braverman in her article. No 10 is holding an internal inquiry into what happened, leaving the fate of the home secretary hanging in the balance.
