Eyewitness: Yet more protests handled with professionalism

Chris Hobbs attends a set of protests ranging from an off-shoot of Just Stop Oil supporting Palestine and a Tommy Robinson-affiliated group demonstrating against police 'inaction' on Asian grooming gangs.

Another weekend and yet another weekend which saw officers across London taken from their normal place of duty in order to ensure that the democratic right to protest is upheld.

As predicted, the events in Gaza, as the ceasefire collapsed, prompted another Saturday event even though there had been a large Palestine Solidarity Campaign ‘national’ protest in London just seven days previously. This however saw no march but a rally close to the Israeli Embassy which predictably caused traffic chaos in the area.

The days of six figure protests seen in the aftermath of the 7th of October appear to have gone but, despite the short notice, around five thousand people turned up. An attempt by a leftist group to defy protest conditions and hold a small meeting within Kensington Gardens was quietly ended by police as the group agreed to move.

For the Children

A walk along Kensington Gardens leads into Hyde Park and Wellington Arch where another protest rally was taking place under the banner of ‘for the children’ and was linked to Tommy Robinson. The rally attracted around 300 and the first two speakers focused on police failures in dealing with Hull and Rochdale grooming gangs. Interestingly the individual ‘chairing’ the rally chided those amongst the 300 who, he predicted, would be eager to adjourn to the pub.

As the well-ordered rally progressed, news came through that the pro-Palestine splinter group Youth Demand were blocking traffic and setting off flares along Piccadilly. I and a journalist set off in an attempt to locate the incident but those involved had moved on. Youth Demand, an offshoot of Just Stop Oil, have stated that they will cause disruption across London during April. I decided enough was enough and headed for Charing Cross Station. As passed the top of Whitehall, I noticed that all did not appear well.

Crisis in Turkey impacts London and Jack Reacher

Three City Police carriers could be seen with blue lights flashing and beyond these vehicles, crowds waving predominately red flags could be seen. As I walked in the direction of Downing Street, it became obvious that the protest was linked to the situation in Turkey and those participating were against President Erdogan.

Part of the Whitehall roadway had been sealed off in any event to facilitate the filming of a Jack Reacher movie. That area was now largely occupied by protesters and police. This protest had not featured in the Met’s policing plan for the weekend and it seems they were taken unawares. Nevertheless, the Met assisted by the City of London Task Force simply moved their resources in order to cope with this unexpected turn of events.

After a while, police officers began circulating amongst the crowd, which numbered around 3,000, politely informing them that enough was enough and they had to leave. Without demur the protesters began dispersing and after a short while, the filming action began involving a number of vehicles and watched by a large, appreciative crowd.

The annual Al Quds march

There was to be no respite for the Met however: Sunday saw the annual Al Quds march; an Islamic event which has become focused on Palestine since October 7th 2023.

Last year’s march was an unpleasant affair with journalists and police officers being intimidated and ten arrests made.

Sunday’s march began at Marble Arch with the destination being the BBC based on the premise that the organisation was biased in favour of Israel. Just weeks previously pro-Israeli protesters had gathered outside the BBC complaining that the latter were pro-Palestinian.

The march began at Marble Arch and continued uneventfully along Oxford Street. The flashpoint would inevitably come at Oxford Circus where pro-Israeli counter protesters were gathered and who were present in greater numbers than normal due to this march taking place on a Sunday. At Oxford Circus, the Al Quds marchers would turn left towards the BBC.

As the march approached the counter-protest, several pro-Israeli protesters placed themselves in the front of the pro–Palestinians complete with the Israeli flag, flag but they were quickly ushered away by police.

Predictably at Oxford Circus, many marchers were reluctant to move on and there were two skirmishes involving several pro-Israelis who had appeared in front of the police cordon. Officers quickly moved to deal with the issue, but for a while the situation looked as it might develop into significant disorder. At this point, British Transport Police OSU (Operational Support Unit) officers appeared and strengthened the police line.

They were quickly followed by a Met TSG unit and order was quicky restored as the marchers continued up towards their final destination. Interestingly, when they reached the much-maligned BBC, they virtually ignored the edifice and continued towards the stage area from where the rally was being held.

Apart from a half-hearted attempt by a few protesters to stage a second march which was dealt by a hastily formed police cordon, the contentious protest and counter-protest concluded with there being just one arrest.

Thus unacknowledged by police critics across the political spectrum, another challenging weekend for the Met and their City and BTP colleagues been successfully concluded.

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