"Eleven arrests were related to alleged hate crime offences"
Forty-three arrests were made during a £4.5 million policing operation, as officers worked to prevent clashes between rival demonstrations in central London.
More than 4,000 officers were deployed across the capital to separate a march organised by far-right figure Tommy Robinson and a pro-Palestinian Nakba Day protest.
The operation transformed parts of central London into heavily controlled zones. Metal barriers surrounded major landmarks, while riot police blocked access routes around Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and Buckingham Palace.
Despite concerns over potential disorder, there were no major clashes between the two groups.
Every year, pro-Palestinian demonstrators march around May 15 to commemorate the Nakba, the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948-49 war surrounding the creation of Israel.
However, organisers discovered Robinson had already booked May 16 for one of his Unite the Kingdom rallies.
The overlap created a major logistical challenge for the Met, particularly as the FA Cup Final at Wembley also took place.
The force responded with one of its largest public order operations since the May Day riots of the early 2000s.
Police established a “sterile zone” stretching between Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Parliament Square to keep both groups apart.
Unite the Kingdom supporters marched from Holborn through Whitehall into Parliament Square. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators travelled from Knightsbridge along Piccadilly into Pall Mall.
The policing strategy appears to have largely succeeded.
For the first time at a protest operation, officers deployed live facial recognition cameras at Euston and King’s Cross St Pancras stations, where Unite the Kingdom protesters were expected to arrive.
One of the first arrests involved a man wanted over an incident in Birmingham linked to the Raise The Colours group, which has been placing flags on lampposts across the UK.
By 7:30 pm, police had arrested 43 people across both demonstrations. Another 22 arrests were made during the FA Cup Final operation.
In an update released on May 17, the Met said:
“Twenty of those arrested were affiliated with the Unite the Kingdom protest, while 12 were affiliated with the Nakba protest.”
“Eleven were either not affiliated with either group, or it hasn’t been possible to confirm their affiliation.
“Eleven arrests were related to alleged hate crime offences – two affiliated to the Nakba Day protest and nine to Unite the Kingdom.”
Police also confirmed that seven additional alleged hate crime offences connected to the Nakba march remain under investigation.
An early police estimate suggested around 60,000 people attended the Unite the Kingdom march. That figure was significantly lower than the estimated turnout at Robinson’s September demonstration.
The protest also appeared less confrontational than previous events.
Loading ...