PSNI assist the Met during another weekend of London protest

Chris Hobbs encounters some PSNI officers on duty in London as the protests around events in the Middle East continue

They came tumbling out of the rather anonymous looking police carrier smiling broadly. My offer of taking photos from the back was brushed aside. Still smiling, they lined up for a team photo and the presence of officers from the PSNI on active and potentially contentious duty in the UK’s capital City was confirmed.

I confess, I had been ‘tipped off,’ in respect of their presence at Charing Cross when chating to BTP officers who were, in some numbers, patrolling Waterloo in anticipation of a probable incursion later that day by pro-Palestinian activists. This wasn’t the first time PSNI officers had performed duty on the mainland; their distinctive green uniforms could also be seen at the coronation of King Charles along with the familiar ‘blue,’ of other forces from across the country.

Once again, the PSNI PSU proved extremely personable in their ‘engagement’ with the public while their public order skills would have been more than welcomed by UK colleagues in the event of a repeat of the violence inflicted upon officers just a week previously.

Just Stop Oil arrests

Compared to events just seven days previously on November the 11th, this day was relatively tranquil. Events began in Jubilee Gardens close to Waterloo. Just Stop Oil had arranged a march for their activists and supporters albeit they promised that arrests linked to slow marching, would not be a feature of the day. They must have been disappointed with the turnout of just several hundred and the day had all the appearance of being a relatively sedentary one for the escorting officers.

It was surprising therefore, to see a flurry of police activity as they grabbed hold of an activist who was duly arrested. There were several chants of ‘shame on you,’ as the individual was taken to a nearby police carrier.

The march set off but shortly after they passed the rear of Waterloo Station, officers moved in to make two further arrests. As the procession was perfectly orderly, it appeared that the arrests were for breach of bail. The march continued on a tour of south London while I returned across the Thames, to Charing Cross and my encounter with the PSNI.

I had already heard that, there were several local pro-Palestinian gatherings across London including one at Camden which attracted around 1,000 protesters. It seemed likely that some would gravitate to central London and so it proved.

Whitehall, Waterloo and Remembrance

As darkness fell, a crowd of several hundred, many waving Palestinian flags, congregated in Whitehall opposite Downing Street and went through the usual repertoire of chants including the controversial and oft repeated ‘from the river to the sea.’

The only incident of note was the apparent targeting of a photographer who, it seems, was believed by some protesters to be some sort of ‘spy.’ Police intervened and this brought into prominence two burly hooded and masked individuals with mobile phones who then spent the next half hour trying to provoke small groups of officers. Having predictably failed to gain any sort of reaction, they drifted away.

I anticipated that the protesters would go on a familiar ‘walkabout,’ around the West End but this proved incorrect as the crowd dispersed.

It was, however, a different story at Waterloo; intelligence that the station might be targeted proved correct and pro-Palestinian supporters together with JSO marchers from earlier, staged a sit-in. This gathering was already prohibited under S14a of the Public Order Act and officers present, after issuing warnings, went into ‘arrest mode.’

One journalist, well versed in public order events stated that, ‘Public order tactics by BTP and other forces were some of the best I’ve ever seen.’

By the time I reached Waterloo, the station had returned to normal and other than several parked carriers, the incident had been successfully concluded thanks to effective policing.

The following day; a week after Remembrance Sunday, the Association of Jewish ex-service men and women (AJEX) held their annual Remembrance parade and ceremony in Whitehall. This event was discreetly policed with officers being assisted by CST security while other carriers full of officers were discreetly parked in reserve.

There wasn’t, however, even a hint of disruption by pro-Palestinian elements and the event was concluded without incident.

The public order pressure on the Met will, however, be maintained with Just Stop Oil intended to continue their daily ‘slow walk,’ protests this week.

This weekend

Saturday see’s another large pro-Palestinian protest in London while Sunday will feature a march against antisemitism. The organisers, namely the Campaign against Antisemitism, have previously been critical of the Met for hindering their lorries which feature filmed appeals concerning the return of the hostages held by Hamas. This, the Met would argue was primarily for their own safety. However, a suggestion that this antisemitism march would receive assistance from ‘cenotaph protecting,’ counter-protesters involved in central London on November the 11th, has received short shrift.

Category: Ops

Tags: British Transport PoliceFree ArticlesLondonMetropolitan Police ServiceNon-territorialNorthern IrelandPolice Service of Northern IrelandPublic Order