Pro-Palestine protests have cost the Met Police £32.2 million so far as thousands more marchers are set to take to London streets this weekend.
Britain’s largest police force is bracing for eleven major events in the capital his weekend, including march in support of International Womens’ Day, six football matches and a fifth pro-Palestine demonstration.
The demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, is the fifth major demonstration of the year so far.
They have required 35,464 officer shifts, and more than 5,200 officer rest days to be cancelled in order to manage the disruptions, police said on Friday.
Commander Karen Findlay, who will oversee policing across London on Saturday, said: ‘We are clearly operating in a context where we understand our Jewish and Muslim communities continue to be highly concerned about anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crime and their own sense of safety in London.
‘We recognise the very real anxiety and fear of individuals who are worried about perceived or actual threats they are subject to.’
It comes after Britain’s counter-terrorism tsar warned that London is becoming a ‘no-go zone for Jews’ during weekend pro-Palestinian marches.
Pro-Palestine protests have cost the Met Police £32.2 million so far as thousands more marchers are set to take to London streets this weekend. Pictured: Police officers during a Pro-Palestinian demonstration on January 6, 2024
As well as this hefty price tag, the force has announced that they have required 35,464 officer shifts, and more than 5,200 officer rest days to be cancelled in order to manage the disruptions. Pictured: A pro-Palestine march on October 28, 2023
Robin Simcox, the Home Office’s independent advisor on extremism also accused the Government for letting extremists go ‘unchallenged for too long’.
Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Simcox said Britain has a ‘permissive environment for radicalisation developing that needs urgently addressing’.
He added that the Government needed to take a ‘leading role’ in tackling all types of extremism.
The counter-extremism tsar said Downing Street now had a chance to take charge of the situation while championing ‘respect for the rule of law, civility, and decency’ – which he said had been in ‘short supply’ since October 7.
It is believed that Mr Simcox hopes there will be tougher restrictions on protests that could include forcing marches to be static demonstrations instead.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously called for the Met Police to take tougher action against protesters.
Sunak promised to deal with the ‘root causes’ of the problem and ensure that ‘no extremist organisations or individuals are being lent legitimacy by their actions and interactions with central government’.
Pro-Palestine protesters have been taking to the streets of the capital, and other large cities across the UK, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since the October 7 attacks last year, where thousands of people have now been killed in the conflict.
Protestors gather near parliament during the ‘Ceasefire Now Stop The Genocide In Gaza’ national UK demonstration on February 3, 2024
Activists staged a mass-sit down protest at London Liverpool Street station last October
During their rallies protesters have brandished banners and chanted ‘from the river to the sea’ – a song deemed anti-Semitic and a direct call for the state of Israel to be destroyed.
Concerns over police resources were also raised by Home Secretary James Cleverly, when he told pro-Palestine protesters to stop their Gaza rallies claiming they have ‘made their point’ and are putting a ‘huge pressure’ on the force.
He said: ‘I think the organisers should recognise that they’ve made their point, they’ve made it loudly and they’re not adding to it by repeating themselves.’
A home affairs committee said the Government should consider legal changes so demonstration organisers are required to give police more than the current six days’ notice. It also calls on ministers to urgently set out a response to hate crime, amid soaring levels.
Committee chairman Labour MP Dame Diana Johnson said: ‘It is clear that the current demands on policing resourcing and the level of complexity in policing protests are unsustainable without proper reinforcement.’
Police were forced to close Tower Bridge when protesters shut it down last month.
The bridge became completely engulfed in smoke as activists, some wearing masks and shouting into megaphones, let off green flares in support of Palestine.
The protests have continued to be a source of tension in Westminster with MPs divided over how best to handle the situation.