London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday issued a statement warning that a planned pro-Palestinian protest in London would be “provocative and disrespectful”, as he deputed Home Secretary Suella Braverman to intervene.
The protest planned for Armistice Day on November 11, also known as Remembrance Day commemorates the end of hostilities during World War I in 1918 and honours the martyrs of both World Wars, will follow similar weekend protests in the UK since the Israel-Gaza conflict intensified last month.
However, the timing of next weekend’s protest has caused concern amid fears that the Edwin Lutyens’ designed Cenotaph memorial to Britain’s war casualties and other war memorials in London may be targeted.
“To plan protests on Armistice Day is provocative and disrespectful, and there is a clear and present risk that the Cenotaph and other war memorials could be desecrated, something that would be an affront to the British public and the values we stand for,” reads Sunak’s statement posted on X.
“The right to remember, in peace and dignity, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for those freedoms must be protected. I have asked the Home Secretary to support the Met Police in doing everything necessary to protect the sanctity of Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday,” he said.
A previous protest march witnessed chanting protesters gather at a stage next to the Cenotaph on Whitehall, near Downing Street, and drape Palestinian flags across the monument.
As witnessed over the past few weekends, thousands are expected to march through and gather in central London on November 11 to protest Israeli military action in Gaza following the Hamas attacks.
Sunak’s statement came after UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat wrote to the Metropolitan Police and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, asking them to stop the protests planned on November 11 and 12. The power to stop protests under the recently passed UK Public Order Act is expected to rest with Braverman, who is currently on a visit to Austria.
“In Vienna, I met with Jewish community leaders to express solidarity after Jewish graves were desecrated by arson and Nazi graffiti this week. A sickening reminder of the extremist threats we face, and why we must do everything necessary to protect our Jewish community,” she posted on X.
Earlier, the Cabinet minister called on the Met Police to take a tougher stance against extreme behaviour during the protests she termed as “hate marches”, including chants of “jihad”.
“We keep our laws under review. If there is a need to change the law, just as we did in relation to the ‘Just Stop Oil’ protests, I will not hesitate to act,” she said earlier this week.
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