STOP the War has said that the chief steward of its Palestine march in London on Saturday has been arrested.
Stop the War said that police officers had come to the march on the pretext of discussing the protest with chief steward Chris Nineham.
However, Stop the War then claimed that Nineham was arrested after police “jumped on him” and “forced him on the ground”.
In a statement, the campaign group said: “This is an outrageous assault on the Palestine movement. It is an unacceptable assault on civil liberties.
“Chris Nineham must be released without charge. We refuse to be intimidated.”
The National has approached the Met Police for further comment.
Saturday’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) protest was adjusted to be a static rally after police curtailed organisers’ plans for a march past the BBC and near a synagogue.
But thousands of demonstrators, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the party’s former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, marched towards Trafalgar Square from Whitehall after speeches were made at the rally.
Writing on Twitter/X, Corbyn joined the calls for Nineham to be released, saying his arrest is an "affront to the democratic rights of us all".
Protesters met a line of police officers and eventually broke through, with those who made it to the square later finding themselves being held in one corner.
The Metropolitan Police warned the group to disperse or face arrest, later announcing: “Around 20 to 30 people who breached the conditions are still contained in Trafalgar Square. They are being arrested.
“Others have already been arrested.”
One masked activist stood on top of a police car waving a Palestine flag.
Members of the public found themselves caught up in the demonstration. One person who asked a police officer why people could not move was told: “Because it’s an illegal march at the moment.”
The most recent batch of arrests follows the arrest of eight people at the rally earlier on Saturday.
A man was arrested on suspicion of holding a placard suggesting support for banned organisations, while four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences and three others on suspicion of breaching conditions put in place for the protest.
One of the conditions prevents anyone involved in the protest from entering a specific area around Portland Place.
Before Saturday, the Met denied putting a “ring of steel” around Broadcasting House as the force said officers would be posted nearby after preventing plans by protesters targeting the BBC to gather in Portland Place.
The force blocked the march from gathering there due to Broadcasting House’s close proximity to a synagogue and the risk the protest could cause “serious disruption” to the Jewish holy day, as congregants attend Shabbat services.
The protest was adjusted to be a static rally in Whitehall instead.
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, according to police.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said ahead of the rally that more than 1,100 officers were due to be deployed, with 200 coming from other forces.
He denied that the Met was putting a ring of steel around Broadcasting House, saying he would instead describe it as “a visible presence of officers in and around the BBC/Portland Place area and surrounding streets”.
In a statement on Twitter/X around 7.40pm, the Met confirmed 77 people had been arrested and said: "There was a coordinated effort led by the protest organisers to march out of Whitehall in a clear breach of the conditions. An investigation into those offences has been launched."
