Police ‘surrounded’ by protesters at pro-Palestinian march in London
Janet Eastham
Sat, 2 December 2023
The Metropolitan Police said it had arrested a man for a racially aggravated public order offence in Brixton, and another, a teenager, on suspicion of criminal damage
Police were “surrounded” by demonstrators and prevented from leaving after making two arrests at a pro-Palestinian march in south London.
The arrests came as Liz Truss, the former prime minister, claimed on Fox News that people are being allowed to “demonstrate in favour of terrorists”.
The Metropolitan Police said it had arrested a man for a racially aggravated public order offence in Brixton, and another, a teenager, on suspicion of criminal damage.
The protest in Brixton was one of dozens taking place across the country on Saturday in a day of action organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
The group is demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war after fighting resumed on Friday and said its primary motivation was concern over further civilian casualties.
Police talk to protesters at the demonstration in Brixton - Peter Marshall/Alamy Live News
The Met declined to provide details about the content of the placard it deemed to be potentially “racially aggravating”, but numerous posters on display during weekly pro-Palestinian marches have been described as anti-Semitic by campaign groups.
The force said protesters obstructed their route as they attempted to leave the Windrush Square, a pedestrianised area in the centre of Brixton, having arrested the first man.
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the force said: “When officers tried to leave the area, their vehicle was surrounded by other protesters. Some sat in the road blocking their path. Additional officers were deployed and the arrested man is now on his way to custody.”
Turning onto Saltoun Road, the police van was again stopped by protesters and a male teenager was arrested for criminal damage to the vehicle. A spokesman for the Met said that “a number of people tried to obstruct the police van as it drove off. They were moved out of the way by officers”.
The force had been criticised for being “too soft” at initial marches in the capital. However, last weekend it warned demonstrators that it would take incitement to violence or racist language far more seriously.
Officers handed out leaflets to provide “absolute clarity” on what was deemed an offence, while Arabic-speaking officers were deployed to pick out offensive chants and images in the crowd.
The protest in Brixton was one of dozens taking place across the country on Saturday - Peter Marshall/Alamy Live News
In response to the resumption of hostilities in Gaza, protesters gathered at rallies and vigils across the UK and Ireland on Saturday. While the marches were largely peaceful, protesters across the country continued to chant slogans condemned by many as anti-Semitic.
On the streets of Dublin, some marchers called for an “intifada”, while at Plashet Park in East Ham, east London, there were chants accusing Israel of being a “terrorist state”.
Ms Truss, who has been on a trip to the United States as part of a delegation with the Conservative Friends of Ukraine, claimed the protests showed the “woke Left” would “rather support authoritarian regimes” than the West.
She said: “On the streets of London, I see people demonstrating in favour of terrorists, and that being allowed to happen.
“They are about saying: ‘The way of life that we have in Britain or America, that is not the right way of life. Actually, we would rather support terrorists, we’d rather support authoritarian regimes.’”
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who has previously refused to condemn Hamas as terrorists, appeared as the keynote speaker at a Stop the War Coalition event in east London.
Journalists attending the “Freedom for Palestine; Imperialism, War and the Middle East” were told the meeting at a small conference centre was not open to them.
Pro-Palestinian protesters block police cars as two arrested at rally in Brixton
Sky News
Updated Sat, 2 December 2023
Two people have been arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in Brixton, south London.
People sat in the road blocking the path of the police cars carrying the arrested protesters, the Metropolitan Police said.
One man was arrested because of the placard he was carrying - police said he was detained "on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence".
Police did not release details of what the placard said.
Met Police said on X, formerly Twitter: "When officers tried to leave the area their vehicle was surrounded by other protesters. Some sat in the road blocking their path.
"Additional officers were deployed and the arrested man is now on his way to custody."
A male teenager was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage of a police vehicle.
People again tried to block the police van as it drove off and were moved out of the way by officers, police said.
Read more from Sky News:
What does jihad mean and why isn't it illegal to chant the word?
Last weekend police handed out leaflets to pro-Palestinian protesters warning them about potential criminal offences.
The leaflet warns against using "words or images that are racist or incite hatred against any faith", that "support Hamas or any other banned organisation" or "that celebrate or promote acts of terrorism - such as the killing or kidnap of innocent people".
"If in any doubt bin any placard or sign that might break these rules," it says.
The leaflet also tells those attending to check if any restrictions are in place and warns: "Don't cause fear or be violent, including using flares or fireworks, or using threatening words or aggressive behaviours that could be considered intimidating.
"Don't deface or damage statues, monuments or other property."
Sky News
Updated Sat, 2 December 2023
Two people have been arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in Brixton, south London.
People sat in the road blocking the path of the police cars carrying the arrested protesters, the Metropolitan Police said.
One man was arrested because of the placard he was carrying - police said he was detained "on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence".
Police did not release details of what the placard said.
Met Police said on X, formerly Twitter: "When officers tried to leave the area their vehicle was surrounded by other protesters. Some sat in the road blocking their path.
"Additional officers were deployed and the arrested man is now on his way to custody."
A male teenager was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage of a police vehicle.
People again tried to block the police van as it drove off and were moved out of the way by officers, police said.
Read more from Sky News:
What does jihad mean and why isn't it illegal to chant the word?
Last weekend police handed out leaflets to pro-Palestinian protesters warning them about potential criminal offences.
The leaflet warns against using "words or images that are racist or incite hatred against any faith", that "support Hamas or any other banned organisation" or "that celebrate or promote acts of terrorism - such as the killing or kidnap of innocent people".
"If in any doubt bin any placard or sign that might break these rules," it says.
The leaflet also tells those attending to check if any restrictions are in place and warns: "Don't cause fear or be violent, including using flares or fireworks, or using threatening words or aggressive behaviours that could be considered intimidating.
"Don't deface or damage statues, monuments or other property."
Pro-Palestinians being ‘allowed to march in favour of terrorists’, Liz Truss claims
Patrick Daly
Sat, 2 December 2023
Liz Truss has claimed people are being “allowed” to demonstrate “in favour of terrorists” as more pro-Palestinian marches take place across the UK on Saturday.
In an extraordinary interview with right-wing broadcaster Fox News, the former prime minister also claimed “trans extremists and eco extremists” would rather support authoritarian regimes than the “Anglo-American” way of life.
Her interview came as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has arranged a country-wide “day of action” to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Fighting has resumed between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian military group following a week-long truce that allowed hostages being held in Gaza to be released, along with Palestinian prisoners who had been incarcerated in Israel.
There are fears of further civilian casualties after Israel dropped leaflets on Friday warning residents to leave the southern part of the strip where two million people — almost the entire Gazan population — are based.
The conflict, sparked by Hamas’s deadly assault on Israel on October 7, has led to regular protests in support of the Palestinians in the UK since the bloodshed started. The protests split opinion within government, with sacked home secretary Suella Braverman describing them as “hate marches” while former cabinet colleagues such as justice secretary Alex Chalk publicly distanced themselves from her comments.
But former PM Ms Truss, who has been on a trip to the US this week with the Conservative Friends of Ukraine, claimed the protests showed the “woke left” would “rather support authoritarian regimes” than the West.
Speaking to the right-wing US broadcaster Fox News while in Washington DC, the Conservative MP said: “On the streets of London, I see people demonstrating in favour of terrorists, and that being allowed to happen.
“And you’ve got the trans extremists, the eco extremists, the anti-capitalists, the degrowth-ers.
“They are about saying, ‘The way of life that we have in Britain or America, that is not the right way of life.
“‘Actually, we would rather support terrorists, we’d rather support authoritarian regimes’.”
Former home secretary Suella Braverman had branded the protests “hate marches” before she was sacked by the Prime Minister.
Rishi Sunak, who succeeded Ms Truss after the fallout from her disastrous mini-budget led to her becoming Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, is reportedly looking to tighten the law to make it easier to ban marches and prosecute those glorifying terrorism.
More than 80 people have been charged in the UK over alleged hate crimes and violence linked to pro-Palestinian protests since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
There has been controversy about those on the marches chanting the phrase “from the river to the sea”, which critics have claimed is antisemitic, while some attendees have been accused of showing support for Hamas.
The militant organisation is proscribed as a terror group in the UK and support for it is banned.
Former No 10 incumbent Ms Truss said anti-Western sentiment was “not the view of the vast majority” of Britons and that her constituents in South West Norfolk were “frustrated” that such ideology “is not being taken on enough by Conservatives”.
“This is why we need Conservative leadership to actually take on the leftists, show strength in the face of aggressors abroad, so that we can revive the values that most people in our societies are desperate for,” she said.
“They believe in family, they believe in freedom, they believe in Anglo-American values.
“The problem is that so much of the public debate is now dominated by the woke left.
“You can see that here in Washington DC, you can see that in London, you can see that right across Europe.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather across the UK, with the PSC arranging ceasefire rallies and vigils in places such as London, Cardiff, Hull and Coventry.
Israel pounded targets on Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip as it pursues Hamas targets following the resumption of violence.
Most Gazans are in the area after Israel urged people to relocate there at the war’s start, a move that left three-quarters of the population displaced and facing widespread shortages of food, water and other supplies.
In a move that appears to hint that the Israel Defence Forces plans to extend its ground assault, Palestinians are being urged to move out of the south.
Unable to go into the battleground of north Gaza or neighbouring Egypt, their only escape is to move around within the 85 sq mile area.
Lord Ricketts, who served as the UK’s first national security adviser, said Israel is in danger of causing “massive civilian casualties” if it takes the fight to Hamas in southern Gaza.
The peer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They’ve got an increasing dilemma.
“They ordered a million people from the north to leave into the south.
“They now have two million people there, many of them displaced, many of them living out in the open.
“They simply can’t use the same kind of armoured all-out assault that they used in the north without massive civilian casualties.”
He said Tel Aviv’s plan to destroy Hamas “seems to me to be impossible” due to the political and social nature of the organisation.
Patrick Daly
Sat, 2 December 2023
Liz Truss has claimed people are being “allowed” to demonstrate “in favour of terrorists” as more pro-Palestinian marches take place across the UK on Saturday.
In an extraordinary interview with right-wing broadcaster Fox News, the former prime minister also claimed “trans extremists and eco extremists” would rather support authoritarian regimes than the “Anglo-American” way of life.
Her interview came as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has arranged a country-wide “day of action” to demand a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Fighting has resumed between Tel Aviv and the Palestinian military group following a week-long truce that allowed hostages being held in Gaza to be released, along with Palestinian prisoners who had been incarcerated in Israel.
There are fears of further civilian casualties after Israel dropped leaflets on Friday warning residents to leave the southern part of the strip where two million people — almost the entire Gazan population — are based.
On the streets of London, I see people demonstrating in favour of terrorists, and that being allowed to happen
Liz Truss, former prime minister
The conflict, sparked by Hamas’s deadly assault on Israel on October 7, has led to regular protests in support of the Palestinians in the UK since the bloodshed started. The protests split opinion within government, with sacked home secretary Suella Braverman describing them as “hate marches” while former cabinet colleagues such as justice secretary Alex Chalk publicly distanced themselves from her comments.
But former PM Ms Truss, who has been on a trip to the US this week with the Conservative Friends of Ukraine, claimed the protests showed the “woke left” would “rather support authoritarian regimes” than the West.
Speaking to the right-wing US broadcaster Fox News while in Washington DC, the Conservative MP said: “On the streets of London, I see people demonstrating in favour of terrorists, and that being allowed to happen.
“And you’ve got the trans extremists, the eco extremists, the anti-capitalists, the degrowth-ers.
“They are about saying, ‘The way of life that we have in Britain or America, that is not the right way of life.
“‘Actually, we would rather support terrorists, we’d rather support authoritarian regimes’.”
Former home secretary Suella Braverman had branded the protests “hate marches” before she was sacked by the Prime Minister.
Rishi Sunak, who succeeded Ms Truss after the fallout from her disastrous mini-budget led to her becoming Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, is reportedly looking to tighten the law to make it easier to ban marches and prosecute those glorifying terrorism.
More than 80 people have been charged in the UK over alleged hate crimes and violence linked to pro-Palestinian protests since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
There has been controversy about those on the marches chanting the phrase “from the river to the sea”, which critics have claimed is antisemitic, while some attendees have been accused of showing support for Hamas.
The militant organisation is proscribed as a terror group in the UK and support for it is banned.
Former No 10 incumbent Ms Truss said anti-Western sentiment was “not the view of the vast majority” of Britons and that her constituents in South West Norfolk were “frustrated” that such ideology “is not being taken on enough by Conservatives”.
“This is why we need Conservative leadership to actually take on the leftists, show strength in the face of aggressors abroad, so that we can revive the values that most people in our societies are desperate for,” she said.
“They believe in family, they believe in freedom, they believe in Anglo-American values.
“The problem is that so much of the public debate is now dominated by the woke left.
“You can see that here in Washington DC, you can see that in London, you can see that right across Europe.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to gather across the UK, with the PSC arranging ceasefire rallies and vigils in places such as London, Cardiff, Hull and Coventry.
Israel pounded targets on Saturday in the southern Gaza Strip as it pursues Hamas targets following the resumption of violence.
Most Gazans are in the area after Israel urged people to relocate there at the war’s start, a move that left three-quarters of the population displaced and facing widespread shortages of food, water and other supplies.
In a move that appears to hint that the Israel Defence Forces plans to extend its ground assault, Palestinians are being urged to move out of the south.
Unable to go into the battleground of north Gaza or neighbouring Egypt, their only escape is to move around within the 85 sq mile area.
Lord Ricketts, who served as the UK’s first national security adviser, said Israel is in danger of causing “massive civilian casualties” if it takes the fight to Hamas in southern Gaza.
The peer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They’ve got an increasing dilemma.
“They ordered a million people from the north to leave into the south.
“They now have two million people there, many of them displaced, many of them living out in the open.
“They simply can’t use the same kind of armoured all-out assault that they used in the north without massive civilian casualties.”
He said Tel Aviv’s plan to destroy Hamas “seems to me to be impossible” due to the political and social nature of the organisation.
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