[1/3]Britain’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman speaks on stage at the Britain’s Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, Britain, October 3, 2023. Portal/Hannah McKay/Files ACQUIRE RIGHTS
- Demonstration on Armistice Day on Saturday
- Braverman criticizes the police’s handling of protests
- The dispute is a side effect of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza
LONDON, Nov 9 (Portal) – Britain’s home secretary on Thursday escalated a row with London police over the staging of a planned large pro-Palestinian march on ceasefire day, accusing officers of taking a softer stance on left-wing causes.
Interior Minister Suella Braverman has taken a hard line on the tens of thousands of protesters who have gathered in London since the Hamas group’s attack on Israel on October 7, calling them “hate marches” and “mobs” that threaten the Jewish community.
Her criticism of police before Saturday heightened tensions with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street office, which said it had not clarified the comments before publication. Nevertheless, a spokesman said Sunak still had full confidence in Braverman.
“I don’t think these marches are just a cry for help for Gaza,” Braverman, who is on the right of her party and is in charge of policing, wrote in the Times. “They are an assertion of the primacy of certain groups – particularly the Islamists – that we are more used to in Northern Ireland.”
She said there is a “perception that senior police officers are the favorites when it comes to protesters,” citing disparate treatment of anti-lockdown groups during the COVID pandemic and Black Lives Matters demonstrations.
Critics from opposing parties and her own accuse Braverman of stoking division and undermining the police. They questioned her commitment to free speech after she asked why some public gatherings should not be banned if they are offensive.
The matter came to a head after police said they expected a large rally on Saturday, the anniversary of the end of World War I, sparking fears that counter-protesters would also march on the capital and lead to violence.
London Police Chief Mark Rowley said any ban required knowledge of an impending serious disruption and that threshold had not yet been exceeded.
Rallying cry
Every weekend, protesters gathered in London to demand an end to Israel’s air and ground offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Around 100,000 demonstrators made up the largest number to march so far.
While there was little outright violence, banners celebrating Hamas’ cross-border attack that killed 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were seen, and the chant of “From the River to the Sea,” a pro-Palestinian, was heard Battle cry viewed by many Jews as anti-Semitic and calling for the extermination of Israel.
In total, police have arrested nearly 200 people since October 7 for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and public order violations such as firing fireworks at officers.
Sunak described the march as disrespectful and said he would hold Rowley to account to ensure the commemorations were preserved.
But he said Britain must remain true to the principles it fought for during two world wars, including the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression, “even when we disagree.”
Braverman, considered a possible future leader of the Conservative Party, often takes a harder line on issues such as crime and immigration than many others in her party. She recently described homelessness as a “lifestyle” choice.
A government source said Downing Street officials had seen a draft of the article and suggested changes that were not taken into account.
Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer said Sunak was too weak to challenge her and Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said Braverman was “out of control”.
Some centrist conservative lawmakers called for her firing. Even the party’s right wing said it should be more careful with its language, saying the reference to Northern Ireland would anger those who have staged civil rights marches and pro-British loyalist rallies in the past.
Neil Basu, a former senior London police officer, said the political criticism could increase the risk of violence.
“It’s kind of ironic that all this rhetoric about this march could actually lead to the secret service stepping things up and banning it,” he told LBC Radio. Two men were arrested this week for defacing the Cenotaph war memorial in the northern English town of Rochdale with the words “Free Palestine.”
Organizers have said they do not plan to march in London on Sunday, November 12, when political leaders will join King Charles and military personnel in a somber annual ceremony to remember those killed in war.
Additional reporting by Sarah Young, Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper; Edited by Sharon Singleton and Mark Heinrich
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