Eyewitness: a headline grabbing weekend for the Met

Chirs Hobbs witnesses the mass arrests of nearly 500 Palestine Action supporters.

It was always going to be a busy weekend for the Met and indeed forces across the country with protests and counter-protests including those outside ‘migrant hotels.’.

In London there was the familiar sight of a Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) march on the Saturday but it was another linked protest on the same day that attracted the headlines as Palestine Action activists and supporters staged a protest against the group being proscribed as a terrorist organisation. For those directly expressing support for Palestine Action, it was expected that arrests would follow.

The possibility of mass arrests led to speculation that the Met would be overwhelmed; the only positive news for public order commanders was the fact that there would be no pro-Israeli counter protest. This was possible due to the fact that a ‘free the hostages’ march and rally would be taking place on the Sunday.

The PSC march was scheduled to follow a familiar route which would take it from Russell Square and along the Strand before ending up in Whitehall where speeches would be made from the stage.

The stage would be a five-minute walk along Whitehall to Parliament Square where the Palestine Action ‘mass arrest’ event was being held and it was at Parliament Square where the world’s press gathered. They were not to be disappointed and numbers increased as the appointed hour of 1pm approached.

Those prepared to be arrested were mainly seated on the ground complete with a sheet of card upon which they were to scribe their support for Palestine Action at precisely 1pm. Other sacrificial protesters were located at the Nelson Mandela end of the square and milling around were hundreds of activists prepared to offer their support but not to the extent of being arrested. Added to the mix were the press and curious spectators.

Placards produced and arrests made

As Big Ben struck 1, those prepared to be arrested began scribing on their cards or producing placards declaring their support for Palestine Action. Around Parliament Square numerous serials of police officers were clearly visible.

After a short while, police began moving amongst the offenders suggesting that they may like to rethink their actions. They were ignored. The first arrests resulted in bedlam as officers bodily lifted the miscreants and were immediately assailed by supporting protesters who did their best to obstruct the progress of the officers and their prisoner. The scenes were initially quite unpleasant and the officer’s public order training in terms of moving forcibly through a hostile crowd with their prisoner came into effect. The policing operation was not helped by the presence of a small group of pro-Israeli ‘Inserts’ who deliberately place themselves in the midst of their rivals hoping to provoke a reaction. Normally they are treated with disdain but on this occasion, they were surrounded then pushed, jostled and struck as police came to their rescue.

More ‘Insert’ issues

Another incident saw police evidence gatherers punched and kicked as they waved at their colleagues calling for assistance; this was briefly captured on BBC news. The atmosphere was predictably ugly and not helped by the appearance of a second group of pro-Israeli inserts. This included the familiar grinning face of an Iranian dissident who is the best known of the Inserts and has been arrested, he states, on no less than eleven occasions.

He has now proclaimed himself, as have so many others, to be a journalist and was involved in an incident the previous evening when anti-migrant protesters and anti-racists gathered at the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf. Police had to keep both sides apart and the above-mentioned dissident, now known by many on the hard left, was involved in an altercation with a female anti-racist.

This resulted in him claiming he was assaulted and yelling for police. The female appears, at one stage to have clipped him round the ear and when police arrived this individual could be seen and heard screaming at the officers who attempted to calm him down.

This incident didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for confrontation, or as he would doubtless see it, claiming his right of freedom of speech and expression as his presence in Parliament Square confirmed.  On this occasion, footage suggests he achieved his aim in that he was clearly grabbed forcibly by the throat, reportedly by an Kurdish male who was supporting the Palestinian cause. Reports that this assault necessitated hospital treatment have yet to be confirmed.

As the afternoon progressed so did the arrests but the atmosphere calmed although those carried out by police were normally accompanied by a crowd who did their best to obstruct officers, The appearance of a serial of Dyfed Powys officers to assist the Met saw ‘hot knives through butter’ type extractions with those trying to hamper their progress rapidly realising that attempting to obstruct was a poor option.

Care and consideration by officers

As has been emphasised by the media, many of those offering themselves up for arrest were over 50 years old and indeed were, what could be described as archetypal leftist ‘crusties.’ The frail were very gently dealt with by officers and supported if they were unsteady on their feet. It is rare these days, with the high level of assaults on officers, not see prisoners cuffed. On this occasion many of mature years were not cuffed but carefully escorted with, as stated, every consideration being given to their welfare.

Others arrested, who were clearly non-violent, were cuffed to the front as opposed to the normally statutory, ‘rear.’ Interestingly whilst most of those arrested were supported by a crowd, the arrest of other individuals saw them receive no support whatsoever as they were caried to police carriers and vans which acted as prisoner transport. Such was the nature of the day that myself and other observers felt a degree of sympathy for them.

Unsavoury behaviour

There were, however, some unsavoury aspects of the afternoon in relation to policing aside from the inevitable and expected abuse. Whilst the auditor, whose self-chosen raison d’etre is to expose officers wearing the TBL patch, wasn’t present, another auditor type was. Complete with mobile phone directed against the PC in question, he moved along a line of officers insisting that they provide him with their full name and ‘badge’ number.  Each officer politely complied.

The second incident that was captured on social media saw a female literally striking some sort of metal plate with a spoon just inches away from the ear of an impassive officer. She kept this up for twenty minutes in what was a vindictive display which was widely criticised across social media.

The arrest of an 81-year-old female, who allegedly had Parkinson’s, was carried out gently and with both respect and consideration by two female officers. This sent a middle-aged man into a fury and he responded by making a number of karate moves threatening officers in what was a bizarre display. There were adverse social media comments questioning why the male wasn’t arrested. It subsequently transpired he was arrested on two counts of assaulting officers. He was also rather embarrassingly dubbed the ‘Karate Kid’ on social media.

Prisoner processing

With arrests still continuing but with the crowds thinning, I opted to walk up Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square on my way to Charing Cross Station. I was surprised to find the street known as Great Scotland Yard barriered off. Behind the barriers were queues of individuals each accompanied by an officer; this was effectively a prisoner processing centre where details of those arrested were recorded and checks made before a decision was taken as to whether the individual in question would be bailed.

Those arrested for serious offences, breach of bail or who refused particulars were taken to police custody suites to be processed.

In all there were more than 500 arrests, yet this will do little to silence those on the right who criticise the Met for alleged ‘two tier’ policing.

“Free the hostages; get them home.”

Day two saw a pro-Israeli ‘free the hostages’ protest attended primarily by those from London’s Jewish community with many people wearing yellow in some shape or form. They gathered in Lincoln’s Inn Fields and their numbers were far in excess of those seen during Saturday static counter-protests against PSC marches. The reason for this of course, is that Saturday is the day of the Jewish sabbath.

There was a predictable police presence but more obvious was the security provided by the CST (Community Safety Trust). The march to Whitehall saw no opposition apart from one female who inserted herself amongst the marchers chanting ‘Free, free Palestine.’ She was, I was informed, robustly dealt with before being taken away by police.

There was no further incident as the march proceeded and as it passed a small pro-Ukraine rally in Whitehall, each group applauded the other.

The second incident occurred in Whitehall by the stage area when another pro-Palestinian insert received a hostile response before being pounced on by CST personnel, restrained and then handed over to police.

A third, rather bizarre incident occurred when some of the crowd noticed a masked man filming events. They became angry when he refused to remove his mask. Police were called and also tried to persuade him but he refused and there was no ‘Section 6AA’ order which would compel him to remove that mask when told to do so by police.

Eventually a Jewish photographer who appeared to know the individual persuaded him to remove the mask. It transpired that the male was himself Jewish and not at odds with what was occurring on the stage.

Towards the end of the event the Chief Rabbi spoke and included in his speech was praise for, and thanks to, the police. The event then drew to its conclusion with the UK and Israeli national anthems before some traditional Jewish music had the crowd dancing.

That ‘whiff of hypocrisy’

One question posed by those familiar with these protests concerns the ‘whiff of hypocrisy’ that surrounds the question of ‘inserts.’ Pro-Israeli inserts have been appearing in the midst of pro-Palestinian protests since October 2023. Police inevitably intervene to prevent violence which leads to complaints that freedom of speech and freedom of expression are being supressed. Recently GB News criticised police for their actions when Inserts unfurled an Israeli flag in the midst of an acrimonious pro-Palestine protest which saw a number of arrests and assaults on officers.

Yet, as was seen on Sunday, the ethos of freedom of speech and freedom of expression seems to only to apply to one side. The two pro-Palestinian inserts referred to above were met with physical hostility by many in the crowd and CST personnel, quite rightly, moved in quickly to deal with any potential threat before police officers took over. A third potential incident was avoided when the masked photographer removed his face-covering.

It would make life much easier for police if all participants acknowledged that the separation of those with opposing views is a necessary police tactic and shouldn’t be sacrificed on the altar of ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘freedom of speech.’ That should also apply to those who try and muddy the waters by attaching the label of ‘journalists’ to themselves.

Having said that, it was a successful weekend of challenging policing for the Met against a background of national unrest. That the complex policing operations were a success drew no thanks or praise from anyone with the gracious exception of Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis.

Meanwhile, protests which took place across the UK in relation to ‘migrant hotels’ appear to have passed off without any notable escalation of violence and fears of a repeat of last summer’s disorder have not, as yet, come to fruition.

Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer who follows public order events as an observer for Police Oracle.