London and Manchester police have called for protests to be delayed or cancelled after the synagogue terror attack.
Metropolitan Police said it wanted to deploy every available officer to protect Jewish communities, but was instead having to prepare for a protest against the banning of Palestine Action.
Politics latest: Mahmood says pro-Palestinian protests ‘dishonourable’ after Manchester attack
The Met said it was “having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation”.
It added: “By choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries [the protest organisers] are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.”
Palestine Action was banned under anti-terrorism laws in July.
Greater Manchester’s police chief echoed the call, urging protest organisers in the city to ask “whether this is really the right time”.
“You could do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting in a manner which is likely to add to the trauma currently being experienced by our Jewish community,” said Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson.
He said peaceful gatherings would not be stopped but warned officers would “act immediately to curtail any acts of violence, intimidation or threat”.
Defend Our Juries, which has led demonstrations against the Palestine Action ban, said it planned to go ahead with the march.
“Today, the Metropolitan Police wrote to us to ask that we postpone Saturday’s mass protest in Trafalgar Square, citing ‘significant pressure on policing’,” said a statement.
“Our response in short: Don’t arrest us then.”
It comes after the home secretary criticised separate pro-Palestinian protests held last night as “fundamentally un-British” and “dishonourable”.
A demonstration – held to protest the Israeli navy halting a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza – was held in London’s Whitehall on Thursday…
