Metropolitan Police faces fresh questions over crackdown on pro-Palestine protest

London’s Metropolitan Police is facing growing calls for a review of its handling of a pro-Palestine demonstration earlier this month in which dozens of protesters were arrested.

In a letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, more than 50 MPs and members of the House of Lords called on the government to order an investigation into the policing of the 18 January protest.

They said they were “deeply troubled” by obstacles put in place by the police ahead of the demonstration, and “aghast” at comments made by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley in which he said his force had “imposed unprecedented restrictions” on the protest.

They also called for anti-protest legislation passed by the previous government - and currently the subject of a legal challenge brought by civil liberties campaign group Liberty - to be repealed.

Signatories include Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Clive Lewis and Ian Lavery; Green MPs Sian Berry and Carla Denyer; and independent MPs, among them Zarah Sultana, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain and Imran Hussain.

The letter was echoed on Friday by another sent to Cooper by a group of trade unions who also demanded an inquiry into “repressive and heavy-handed policing”.

"As trade unionists we are only too aware how heavy-handed policing, followed by the construction of false media narratives, have often served as a pretext to undermine our democratic rights to demonstrate and take industrial action," the letter said. 

Both letters raised questions about the Met’s narrative of events, after it accused protesters of breaking through a police cordon between Whitehall and Trafalgar Square.

Organisers have disputed this account, saying that protesters were invited by officers to “filter through” to Trafalgar Square. They have accused police of “heavy-handed and aggressive policing”.

More than 70 people were arrested on the day of the protest, including Chris Nineham, the chief steward of the demonstration.

Nineham has been charged with a public order offence and is due to appear at Westminister Magistrates’ Court on 13 February.

Ben Jamal, the head of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), was also charged with a public order offence and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 21 February.

Pro-Palestine demonstrations have taken place frequently in central London since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023 and regularly draw tens of thousands of people.

They are organised by a coalition of organisations including the PSC, the Stop the War Coalition, Friends of Al-Aqsa, and the Muslim Association of Britain.

'Gross abuse of power'

Concerns about the policing of the protest were also raised this week during an appearance by Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Matt Twist in front of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee.

In questions to Twist, Zoe Garbett, a Green Party member of the assembly, said: “I’ve heard from over 150 people who attended, they report violence from the police against children, pregnant people and older people.”

Garbett said that people complained they had been arrested without warning and had been “misled” by police. She suggested police had used “kettling” tactics disproportionately to contain protesters in Trafalgar Square.

Twist said: “I’m not sure I recognise the characterisation of that.”

He added: “If there is a suggestion that officers have acted too hastily or approached people and given no warning whatsoever then that is something we would look at. I don’t believe that is the case.”

In a letter subsequently sent to Rowley, Garbett said protesters had told her they had faced “an extremely hostile atmosphere” created by police.

“The actions of the Metropolitan Police during this demonstration were a gross abuse of power and a clear attempt to intimidate and suppress lawful protest,” she wrote.

Human rights groups and legal experts have previously called for an investigation into the policing of the protest.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Middle East Eye: "The specific detail of events that saw protesters move from Whitehall into Trafalgar Square will form part of the investigations that are underway following the protest. It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to pre-empt the outcome of those investigations by commenting further at this stage."  

A Home Office spokesperson said: "The right to protest is a fundamental part of our democracy.

“The use of public order powers are a matter for police who are operationally independent of government.”