MPs, celebrities, rights groups and activists condemn UK police ban on Palestine march

Thousands of people, holding banners and Palestinian flags, gather in front of the BBC Portland Place London, United Kingdom on February 03, 2024 [Burak Bir/Anadolu via Getty Images]

Cross-party UK MPs and peers, trade union general secretaries, cultural figures and celebrities, writers, journalists, health workers and civil society organisations and activists have condemned police measures imposed to stop an agreed protest for Palestine taking place at the BBC on 18 January.

In a statement issued today by the six organisations behind the national Palestine marches, and supported by at least 150 high profile individuals and organisations, including Liberty, Amnesty International UK and Greenpeace, the Metropolitan Police are accused of misusing public order powers to shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny.

“The route for the march was confirmed with the police nearly two months ago and as agreed with them, was publicly announced on 30 November. […] With just over a week to go, the Metropolitan Police is reneging on the agreement and has stated its intention to prevent the protest from going ahead as planned,” the statement said.

Among those to have signed the statement are musician Brian Eno, singer-songwriter Charlotte Church, actors Mark Rylance, Khalid Abdalla, Nadia Sawalha and Juliet Stevenson, author Susan Abulhawa, and economist Yanis Varoufakis.

“The BBC is a major institution – it is a publicly-funded state broadcaster and is rightly accountable to the public. The police should not be misusing public order powers to shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny,” they added.

“It is not acceptable in a democratic society that, in the face of an ongoing genocide in Gaza, people should be barred from protesting at the BBC. We call on the police to drop their objections and allow the protest to go ahead as planned.”

Labour, Independent, Green, Plaid Cymru, Sinn Fein and SNP MPs also signed the letter including, while trade union leaders include PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote, RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch, the NEU’s Daniel Kebede and FBU leader Matt Wrack.

READ: Palestine Coalition rejects Police attempt to block BBC protest march

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