Pro-Palestine marches 'set to be banned' under new Home Office plans after police slammed

The Met Police are set to be given new powers to shut down pro-Palestinian protests as the Campaign Against Antisemitism slammed the "expensive shambles" of policing, according to reports.

New plans to amend sections of the Public Order Act are being considered by the Home which allows processions to be banned and public assemblies to be restricted, according to the Telegraph.

It comes after a series of complaints that police have failed to arrest those displaying antisemitism at the marches that have been taking place in central London for months.

An official review by Lord Walney, the Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, is due to be published this week.

Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Met Police, has been urged to quit after officers threatened to arrest an "openly Jewish" man during a pro-Palestine rally.

The protests have become a regular weekend event in central London, with the Home Office’s independent adviser on extremism saying it had turned the capital into a "no-go zone for Jews".

Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, criticised the police response to the protests, calling them a "weekly takeover of central London".

He added: "Under Sir Mark Rowley, the Met’s policing of these marches has been an expensive shambles. Practically nothing has been done to curtail them, with marchers being given two-mile routes though the central of our capital. For over seven months, Sir Mark has claimed that he requires additional legal powers to curtail the marches even though the law already plainly gives him the powers he needs.

"To break the deadlock, we have turned to the Government to issue clarifications to the Public Order Act that give the Met nowhere to hide by forcing Sir Mark to treat the weekly marches as one single campaign, rather than as numerous discrete protests, and judge their impact on the rights of Londoners accordingly. These weekly takeovers of central London must be brought to an end and this move will make it completely undeniable that the Met has both the power and the duty to act."

Home Secretary James Cleverly and police minister Chris Philip are reportedly looking at ways to amend the Public Order Act to give police more powers and refuse permission for marches to go ahead.

The act currently says police can take into account the "relative cumulative disruption" of a protest when deciding whether to stop it from going ahead. Section 12 is now under "active consideration" as Home Office officials look at bringing in new amendments.

A Home Office spokesperson told the Sunday Telegraph: "The right to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, but there are clear concerns about the cumulative impact protests are having on some of our communities which we are looking at.

"All communities should be able to go about their daily lives without fear. We have been clear with the police that they must use all the powers available to them to police protests appropriately and will always have our backing in doing so. We thank the Campaign Against Antisemitism for their proposals and we will be looking closely at them alongside Lord Walney’s recommendations which will be published this week."

It is also hoped the amendments will define "disruption" more widely than "physical obstruction". This could allow Scotland Yard to look into the impact protests have on businesses, tourists and residents.

Mr Falter at Campaign Against Antisemitism added: "Week after week, we have seen excuses instead of arrests and officers 'contextualising' offences away instead of enforcing the law, so we are also calling for the Home Secretary to issue mandatory directions to the Mayor of London, who has spent months shirking his responsibility to keep London safe for all its communities.

"Those directions would require the Mayor to work with the Met to ensure that enough police officers are on hand at these marches to pull protesters out of marches and arrest them immediately when offences are committed."

A spokesperson for Met Police said: "On Monday, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley will also meet with senior representatives from the Jewish community including from the London Jewish Forum and Community Security Trust.

"We will do everything we can to constantly develop our approach in response to operational challenges to ensure the trust and confidence of all Londoners. This is complex, but we will continue to seek the support and insight of all voices who can help us deliver the service London deserves."