Over 50 UK MPs, peers call for probe into policing of pro-Palestine protest

More than 50 members of the British Parliament and Peers have backed calls for an independent inquiry into the Metropolitan Police’s approach to a pro-Palestine protest on 18 January which resulted in 77 arrests and charges being brought against organisers, the Palestinians Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced today.

In their letter, the parliamentarians described this as “the apparent denial of civil liberties and freedom to protest.” They called on the government to repeal anti-protest laws brought in under the last Conservative government which the current governing party, Labour, said at the time would “erode historic freedoms of peaceful protest”.

It has emerged that the day after the protest the Met Police Chief Mark Rowley addressed a meeting of the pro-Israel Board of Deputies at which he boasted that his team imposed “sharper and stronger conditions” on the organisers of the demonstration.

The parliamentarians’ letter asks the home secretary to clarify whether there was any discussion between the Commissioner and the Home Office around such a significant change in policy. They also highlighted the inconsistency between the Met Police’s statements on the protest and video evidence that contradicts it.

The police has mislead the public about events in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, claiming the Palestine coalition attempted to push through police lines. Our footage shows the truth. WATCH ⬇️(1/6) pic.twitter.com/c9QlijL788

— Palestine Solidarity Campaign (@PSCupdates) January 19, 2025

Events at the national Palestine protest on 18 January have drawn widespread criticism towards the Metropolitan Police, including from Amnesty International UK and Liberty. The Met reneged on a previous agreement to allow a march from BBC Portland Place to Whitehall, a route taken several times before. It then sought to impose a route the Board of Deputies publicly claimed that it had proposed to the police. This was rejected by the Palestine Coalition organising group. Finally, the Met banned any alternative march route allowing only a rally in Whitehall.

On the day there was a massive police presence, with police obstructing the gathering for the rally in many respects. There was an unusually high number of arrests of protestors. The Chief Steward who organises the demonstrations for the Palestine Coalition in discussion with police was violently arrested on the day, and with the Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, subsequently charged with offences under the Public Order Act. Two MPs – Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell – who attended the protest have been interviewed under caution by the police.

McDonald said: “There are serious questions for the Metropolitan Police to answer over their policing of the most recent national protest for Gaza which proves public order legislation is preventing legitimate protest.”

“The police are yet to explain why they have charged organisers and questioned MPs over public order breaches, when their account of events conflicts with widely available video footage.”

READ: UK Law experts and Muslim group demand inquiry into Met’s pro-Palestine protest crackdown