Rishi Sunak urges ban on ‘provocative and disrespectful’ pro-Palestine marches on Armistice Day

Rishi Sunak has backed a ban on what he condemned as “provocative and disrespectful” pro-Palestine marches as a consequence of be held in London on Armistice Day.

His dramatic intervention got here simply hours after the safety minister sparked a ferocious row after he requested the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor of London to halt the demonstrations.

But Tom Tugendhat was accused of “posturing” by Labour’s London mayor Sadiq Khan, who stated solely authorities had the ability to ban marches.

And march organisers accused ministers of “at worse an incitement to public disorder”.

The prime minister stated there was a “clear and present risk that the Cenotaph and other war memorials could be desecrated” by the march subsequent Saturday.

“That would be an affront to the British public and the values we stand for,” he warned.

He stated the “right to remember, in peace and dignity, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for those freedoms” had to be protected and revealed he had asked the Home Secretary Suella Braverman to support the Met Police “in doing everything necessary to protect the sanctity of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.”

Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day, held on November 11 yearly, is a Saturday this 12 months, with the normal Remembrance Sunday providers the subsequent day. The Met have made clear there are not any plans for marches on Remembrance Sunday.

A major demonstration is predicted on the Saturday of Armistice Day, nevertheless.

Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has promised to make sure any demonstrations is not going to intrude with Remembrance weekend occasions.

Pressed by the London Assembly on Thursday if he may “assure a plan to maintain occasions separate in case of unplanned marches in Whitehall, he described it as “a serious safety occasion, from a policing perspective.”

Ben Jamal, director Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PCS), informed The Independent: “The makes an attempt to border the deliberate nationwide demonstration on November 11, a part of a cycle of weekly marches calling for a ceasefire, as disrespectful to Remembrance Day commemorations is at greatest misinformed and at worse an incitement to public dysfunction. “

There have been “no plans” to march close to Whitehall or the Cenotaph, he stated. “We are choosing a route designed to avoid those areas, in consultation with the Metropolitan Police. The march will also not begin until some significant time after the 2 minutes silence at 11am. This is a march calling for a ceasefire in order to stop the current slaughter in Gaza. To highlight this democratic action taking place on November 11, well away from Whitehall, as disrespectful is dangerous and disingenuous politicking that defames many hundreds of thousands of people who want the current violence to stop.”

Mr Khan accused ministers of “posturing”. He stated: “If this security minister knew his brief, he would know the only person in the country that can ban marches is the Home Secretary – his colleague in cabinet. So rather than writing these public letters to me, rather than this posturing when he’s doing media – speak to the Home Secretary.”

Mr Khan stated it was “incredibly important” that demonstrators understood the significance of Remembrance occasions, including that the Met Police was chatting with protest organisers to “make sure they stay away from the Cenotaph”.

Earlier Mr Tugendhat introduced he had written to the mayor of London, Westminster Council and the the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. He stated that November 11 was not “just another day. It’s not just even a day of remembrance. Actually, it’s a day of grief.”

“And I think that’s why this is not an appropriate time,” he stated. “This is not an appropriate venue for protest.”