Police condemn ‘intolerable abuse against officers’ at Palestine Action protest

The Metropolitan Police has condemned the “intolerable” abuse it claims its officers suffered while arresting more than 400 people protesting against the banning of Palestine Action as a terror group.

The force also criticised demonstrators’ attempts to “overwhelm the justice system” as hundreds of people defied the ban and faced arrest by declaring their support for the group.

Most of the arrests were for supporting a proscribed organisation, but around 25 people were for arrested for assaults on police officers and other public order offences.

The force claimed there was a “co-ordinated effort to prevent officers from carrying out their duties which escalated to violence”, and criticised the fact that the 2,500 officers policing the protest were taken away from duties elsewhere in the capital.

But Defend Our Juries – organisers of the Parliament Square rally in which 1,500 people took part – insisted it was “the picture of peaceful protest” and that the Met’s claim about abuse was “astonishing”.

More than 425 people had been arrested by around 9pm, police said, but arrests were expected to continue.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart said: “In carrying out their duties today, our officers have been punched, kicked, spat on and had objects thrown at them by protesters.

“It is intolerable that those whose job it is to enforce the law and keep people safe – in this case arresting individuals committing offences under the Terrorism Act – should be subject to this level of abuse.

“Our role in the context of protest remains as it always has been – to police without fear or favour, to enforce the law, and to ensure those exercising their right to protest can do so safely. Where a group advertises that they intend to commit crimes, we have a duty to respond accordingly.

“The tactics deployed by supporters of Palestine Action in their attempt to overwhelm the justice system, as well as the level of violence seen in the crowd, required significant resource which took officers out of neighbourhoods to the detriment of the Londoners who rely on them.”

Ms Smart added that a separate Palestine Coalition march, which was attended by around 20,000 people, “passed with very few arrests”.

A DOJ spokesperson said the people being arrested on Saturday were sitting and holding signs.

They told the PA news agency: “I’ve been here all day and I haven’t seen any violence or aggression from anyone.

“The people they’re arresting, it’s all people sitting here silently holding signs, a lot of elderly, many disabled people, veterans, vicars, healthcare workers in their scrubs, just like the picture of peaceful protest. I’ve only seen aggression and violence from the police.”

They said the arrests were “going so slowly”, adding: “I think they were probably embarrassed and maybe making this claim about violence to try and sort of deflect and change the narrative away from what the real story is here, which is that this ban is not enforceable and there’s just too many of us.

“It’s just being made a mockery of, really, by the numbers of people who are defying it and will continue to defy it until the Government drop it, and now there’s a new Home Secretary I think there’s a real opportunity for it to be dropped and this sends a strong message on her first day since her appointment that she’s inheriting this ban which is just unenforceable.”

Reverend Sue Parfitt was among those arrested on Saturday. This is the 83-year-old’s second time being arrested over demonstrating support for Palestine Action, according to DOJ.

She said: “The truth is that Palestine Action is not a terrorist organisation.

“It caused much damage confined to the weapons that are being used on the Palestinians.

“All of us with any moral backbone at all must stand up against this.”

Violent clashes broke out as tensions rose through the afternoon – with the protest taking on an increasingly anti-police tone featuring chants of “shame on you”, “you’re supporting genocide” and some referencing former Metropolitan officer and murderer Wayne Couzens.

There were frantic scenes in the area, as officers drew their batons during clashes, forced their way through crowds carrying arrested protesters and had screaming arguments with demonstrators.

One protester was seen with blood streaming down his face and several others fell over in a crush at one point.

A man, who appeared to be in his 50s, unfurled an Israeli flag in front of demonstrators, sparking a scuffle as protesters tried to seize it.

Police rushed in and escorted him away as a small crowd followed, calling him a “baby killer”, “paedophile” and “Zionist”, and chanting “arrest him now”.

Protesters also gathered for a separate demonstrations in Belfast and Edinburgh.

Palestine Action was banned as a terror organisation in July after the group claimed responsibility for an action in which two Voyager planes were damaged at RAF Brize Norton on June 20.

The Home Office is set to appeal against the High Court ruling allowing Palestine Action’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, to proceed with a legal challenge against the Government over the group’s ban.

Ms Ammori took legal action against the department over then-home secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws, which made membership of, or support for, the direct action group a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.