“Aggressive Policing”: Metropolitan Police Faces Growing Questions over Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Protest

London (Quds News Network)- London’s Metropolitan Police is facing growing questions over its handling of a pro-Palestine demonstration earlier in January, during which more than 70 protesters were arrested.
In a letter sent to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, more than 50 MPs and members of the House of Lords urged the government to order an investigation into the policing of the 18 January protest.
They said they were “deeply troubled” by obstacles put in place by the police ahead of the demonstration, and “aghast” at comments made by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley in which he said his force had “imposed unprecedented restrictions” on the protest.
They also called for anti-protest legislation passed by the previous government – and currently the subject of a legal challenge brought by civil liberties campaign group Liberty – to be repealed.
Among the Signatories are Labour MPs Diane Abbott, Clive Lewis and Ian Lavery; Green MPs Sian Berry and Carla Denyer; and independent MPs, among them Zarah Sultana, Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain and Imran Hussain
The letter was echoed on Friday by another sent to Cooper by a group of trade unions who also demanded an inquiry into “repressive and heavy-handed policing”.
“As trade unionists we are only too aware how heavy-handed policing, followed by the construction of false media narratives, have often served as a pretext to undermine our democratic rights to demonstrate and take industrial action,” the letter said.
Both letters raised questions about the Met’s narrative of events, after it accused protesters of breaking through a police cordon between Whitehall and Trafalgar Square.
Organisers have disputed this account, saying that protesters were invited by officers to “filter through” to Trafalgar Square. They have accused police of “heavy-handed and aggressive policing”.
More than 70 people were arrested on the day of the protest, which organisers estimated drew 100,000 people, including Chris Nineham, the vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, who served as the chief steward for the national protest for Palestine.
Nineham has been charged with a public order offence and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 13 February.
Shame on the Met police, solidarity with the protesters.
Cops arrested chief steward Chris Nineham from @STWuk on the #freepalestine march in London. Solidarity pic.twitter.com/fAzkBsCyXZ
— Socialist Worker (@socialistworker) January 18, 2025
Ben Jamal, the head of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), was also charged with a public order offence and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 21 February.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The right to protest is a fundamental part of our democracy.”
“The use of public order powers are a matter for police who are operationally independent of the government.”
Amnesty International has also expressed concerns about the policing, while the Green party London Assembly member Zoë Garbett told the assembly’s police and crime committee meeting that she had been contacted by more than 150 people who described incidents of kettling and police violence towards children, pregnant women and older people.