Protesters clash with police at Palestine Action demonstration in London
Protesters have clashed with police at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action as the UK Government moves to ban the group.
The crowd surged towards police when officers tried to detain someone in Trafalgar Square in central London, while onlookers chanted 'let them go'.
Advertisement
The protest had initially been planned to take place outside the Houses of Parliament, but the location was changed early on Monday morning after the Metropolitan Police imposed an exclusion zone.
The UK Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was 'shocked' by the planned protest and described Palestine Action as an 'organised extremist criminal group'.
The UK Home Secretary is due to update Parliament following the group's vandalism of two planes at an RAF base.
The rally started at midday and must end by 3pm, Scotland Yard said.
Advertisement
On Sunday, Cabinet minister Jonathan Reynolds said he could not rule out the possibility of a foreign power being behind Palestine Action
Speaking at the protest, Palestine Action spokesperson Max Geller said there had never been any evidence of such claims.
'I can't overstate how absurd and disappointing that accusation is,' he told the PA news agency.
'I want to make very clear that there has never been any evidence offered to support such a claim, and if we were allowed to be a legally recognised group, that man would be being sued right now for libel.'
Advertisement
Asked about Sir Mark Rowley's comments, he said: 'It's really troubling that the head of the Met would pre-empt the government and ban us from protesting (at the Houses of Parliament).
'It's a frustrating turn for democracy in this country.'
Yvette Cooper will provide MPs with more details on the move to proscribe the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support it, in a written ministerial statement.
Belonging to or expressing support for a proscribed organisation, along with a number of other actions, are criminal offences carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
Advertisement
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
Police officers and protesters during the Palestine Action demonstration at Trafalgar Square (Jeff Moore/PA)
Speaking on Sunday, the head of the Met said he was 'shocked and frustrated' at the protest, but that until the group is proscribed the force had 'no power in law' to prevent it taking place.
'The right to protest is essential and we will always defend it, but actions in support of such a group go beyond what most would see as legitimate protest,' he added.
Advertisement
'Thousands of people attend protests of a different character every week without clashing with the law or with the police. The criminal charges faced by Palestine Action members, in contrast, represent a form of extremism that I believe the overwhelming majority of the public rejects.'
Proscription will require Ms Cooper to lay an order in UK Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
Some 81 organisations have been proscribed under the 2000 Act, including Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and al Qaida, far-right groups such as National Action, and Russian private military company the Wagner Group.
Palestine Action has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
21 minutes ago
- The Independent
Emma Raducanu speaks out after stalker tried to buy Wimbledon tickets
Emma Raducanu has praised Wimbledon after her stalker was blocked from buying tickets to this year's event. The man, who was previously given a restraining order by Dubai police after stalking the British former US Open Champion at four successive tennis tournaments in Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai, had his name red-flagged on the All England Club's security system. He was blocked from entering the public ballot. "I got a notification, the police contacted me and told me and assured everything was good," Raducanu told BBC Sport.
Sky News
23 minutes ago
- Sky News
Sky News Business Podcast: Markets react to US strikes on Iran
Joining Darren McCaffrey are former secretary of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark, and AJ Bell's Russ Mould.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labour MPs show support for activists promoting 'transgender Cinderella' to primary kids
Labour MPs have shown support for an activist group which promotes ' transgender Cinderella' books to primary school children. Pop'n'Olly, which visits classrooms to teach gender ideology, welcomed politicians to a Parliamentary drop-in event which it said was sponsored by Nadia Whittome MP. The gathering included Labour MPs Kim Leadbeater, Paul Davies, Darren Paffey and Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty. These four MPs posed for social media photos in front of the Pop'n'Olly logo with a sign reading: 'I support LGBT + education'. Last night, campaigners condemned their support for the group as 'hugely concerning'. Pop'n'Olly, which describes itself as an 'LGBT+ educational resource', tells children that sex is 'assigned' at birth and gender can be seen as 'a spectrum'. It has also produced a book aimed at primary schools, 'Jamie - A Transgender Cinderella Story', featuring a girl who gets to dress as a 'boy called Jamie' for a ball and win the heart of a princess. Pop'n'Olly distributes this and other books to schools, and claims to have donated a total of 12,000 to 4,000 primaries. After the event, on June 3rd, Mr Davies reposted his photo on his own open Facebook page with the caption: 'Today I showed my support for LGBT+ education. 'I believe that every student deserves to see themselves reflected in what they learn.' However, many of Pop'n'Olly's teaching materials are highly controversial. Among them is a video called 'Gender Explained for Kids', which is marketed as 'family friendly'. It says: 'Most people's gender will be the same as their assigned sex, although this will not be the case for everyone.' It adds that gender 'can be something that someone discovers about themselves as they grow older'. And it says: 'Some people find it useful to think of gender as a spectrum'. The group's training lead, Jack Lynch, who identifies as 'non-binary', wrote last year about speaking to a group of children aged nine to 11 at a primary in Sussex 'about gender identity'. Lynch said a nine-year-old girl said during the session: 'I feel like you feel. I don't fit into a box that everyone else seems to fit into. 'I don't like doing normal girl things. I like football and wearing boys' clothes.' In 2021, Pop'n'Olly celebrated on Instagram after being awarded an 'honorary Mermaids' certificate by the now discredited Mermaids organisation. This month's event was revealed on Facebook where the group tagged in the MPs attending and boasted: 'A MASSIVE thank you to over 20 MPs, ministers and staffers who attended our drop in event in @ukparliament on Tuesday. 'We had so many fantastic conversations, shared valuable information and witnessed such amazing support for LGBT+ inclusive education at primary school! 'We have come away feeling proud, hopefully and renewed in our passion for this incredibly important work. 'A huge thank you to @nadiawhittomemp for sponsoring our event and for her ongoing support for LGBT+ Education.' The event has sparked concern that some Labour MPs may not be attuned to concerns about teaching transgender concepts to young children. Stephanie Davies-Arai of Transgender Trend said: 'Pop'n'Olly is an activist organisation masquerading as an innocent, fun, children's educational resource. 'Their message to little children is that they may have been born 'wrong' and need fixing. 'They introduce doubt into impressionable children's minds – am I a girl or am I a boy? 'No child should be asking this question, as if they have a choice. 'Trans ideology can only cause confusion, doubt and fear for children too young to understand it is not the reality.' She added the transgender Cinderella story could be seen as 'turning a lesbian into a straight boy in order to win the hand of the princess'. 'It is hugely concerning that so many Labour MPs openly support such regressive, sexist and homophobic views,' she said. Parent groups have previously warned gender ideology reinforces old-fashioned stereotypes of 'male' and 'female'. The previous Tory government's guidance for 'gender-questioning children' says schools should not teach 'gender identity' as fact. However, this has been 'under review' since Labour took power last year. Pop'n'Olly is a private company which provides LGBT+ teaching resources, books, staff training and direct child-facing sessions to schools. While the company is not officially sanctioned by the Department for Education (DfE), headteachers are free to invite them or any other education company in to work with their school. Pop'n'Olly was created by Olly Pike, 39, who says he produces 'inclusive videos and children's books that combat homophobia and transphobia', while 'drawing on his background in theatre'. A spokesman for Pop'n'Olly said: 'We are incredibly proud of the work we do at Pop'n'Olly which supports schools, parents and carers in teaching about diversity and inclusion. 'Our work is supported by many thousands of teachers, educators, parents and carers, designed and delivered by education experts, in line with all current legislation and informed by research.' A Government spokesman said: 'Schools have a clear duty to safeguard their pupils – and should make sure children are never taught concepts that they are too young to understand, and never made to feel that not fitting with gender stereotypes means they were born in the wrong body. 'Our review of the Relationship, Sex, and Health Education guidance will put children's safety at its core, making clear that concepts around sex and gender should only be taught in a way that reflects the facts and law on biological sex and gender reassignment.' The MPs did not respond to attempts to contact them, and Labour declined to comment on their behalf.
