BY CHRIS HOBBS

Photos: Chris Hobbs

Another ‘Groundhog Day’ with yet another national pro-Palestinian protest in Central London accompanied by another huge policing operation which involved officers from across the country. The march was originally due to set off from near the BBC in Portland Place, however, as this would have impacted retailers in Oxford and Regent Street. The organisers agreed to a rendezvous point of Russell Square and a less disruptive route which would take them down Kingsway and via Aldwych, along the Strand to their rally at Trafalgar Square.

This march was different in that there was to be an organised counter-protest by those who support Israel and the two rival groups would inevitably come in close contact with each other at some stage on the route. It was decided, that the pro-Israeli group would rally on the Strand by Waterloo Bridge, thus the pro-Palestinian would come down Aldwych and turn right into the Strand, passing the counter-protest as they did so.

Serials of officers from Norfolk, Essex and Greater Manchester were in position early which meant that nearby catering outlets did a brisk trade as officers queued for tea and coffee. Coffee was to prove significant later in the day and embroil the Met in one of several controversies.

A walk along Kingsway saw increasing numbers of protesters, with the now familiar Palestinian flags, making their way to Russell Square and once again local catering establishments were thriving. Shortly before the main rally point, in a side road, a substantial pro-Palestinian ‘Jewish bloc,’ gathered ready to join the main march as it progressed. Thet were accompanied by groups of ‘Christians for Palestine.’

The crowd became quite densely packed before Russell Square and the mood was cheerful with no hostility being shown to police. Meanwhile at the Waterloo Bridge/ Aldwych/ Strand section of the march, barriers had been placed across the approach to Waterloo Bridge and insults were being exchanged between arriving pro-Israeli protesters and pro-Palestinian supporters who were making their way to Russell Square.

The pro-Israeli counter-protest.

The march set-off and made good time down towards the Strand and the potential confrontation with the 150 or so pro-Israeli supporters complete with their distinctive blue and white national flags. Those numbers seemed rather small considering the appeals which had been made, however from sunset on Friday, through Saturday until sunset is the Shabbat; the Jewish holy day of rest. It’s also worthy of note that previous organisers of Jewish rallies during this period have eschewed support from the English ‘patriotic’ far-right and indeed they were conspicuous by their absence on this occasion.

The Jewish supporters were gathered behind steel barriers and two lines of police officers. In front of the ranks of police, was a line of stewards from the pro-Palestinian march who had the unenviable job of keeping the marchers moving.  

Tensions grew as the massed ranks of marchers came down Aldwych and prepared to turn right past the counter-protesters and into the Strand. Speaking as one who extensively policed football during my time in the Met, it looked a familiar scene in terms of keeping rival supporters apart. Chanting and insults flew from both sides as they came within a few yards of each other, but the stewards did their job and the march kept moving; One female steward with a megaphone was singled out by observers and officers for particular praise.

A familiar face and a sticker

After four minutes of the ‘march past,’ a familiar character appeared being led out of the crowd by officers. He is the Iranian dissident who is a pro-Israeli activist and who appears determined to be beaten to a pulp by pro-Palestinian activists by, as during several previous protests, getting amongst them with his ‘Hamas are terrorist placard.’ His claim and that of his supporters is that he is a peaceful protester and therefore should be allowed to go where he pleases. As stated before, that logic therefore dictates that a leftist protester with a ‘racist scum off our streets,’ placard should be able to mingle unmolested, with those from the far right; or following the same principle, a West Ham fan complete with scarf and club shirt should be able to stand amongst Millwall’s most fanatical supporters.

The dissident was allowed to stand in front of the Israeli group holding up his banner when those experienced photo-journos spotted something that made them smile. At a recent protest a police officer was hugely criticised as a Palestinian flag sticker was attached to his uniform. There were suggestions that doubted the officer’s impartiality. Well, on this occasion, the Iranian gentleman; clearly a devout supported of the Israeli cause, had also been ‘stickered’ with the Palestinian flag.

A powerful male goes berserk.

The march was going well but some 50 minutes after the first protester entered the Stand, a bizarre, very powerfully built figure, dressed in some sort of green, clerical garb appeared and began screaming foul mouthed abuse at the pro-Israeli counter-protesters. He appeared under the influence of something, but was intercepted and ushered on his way. He had only gone a few yards when, again screaming abuse, he hurled himself past the stewards towards the police lines. Officers moved quickly to apprehend him but his weight and power made that a difficult task.

Attempting to ‘cuff’ him also proved problematic such was his strength but eventually he was led away. This was to be the only attempt to breach the police lines during the afternoon as protesters streamed past chanting and hurling insults at their opponents who responded in kind.

The Aldwych stand-off

The march took just under an hour and a half to pass the angry pro-Israeli contingent but it soon became apparent that there was another incident unfolding close by at the bottom of Aldwych. An arrest had been made and the prisoner was inside a police carrier. A small crowd had gathered around the police carriers shouting, ‘let him go.’ Police officers stood around the carrier in question and, predictably, the pro-Palestinian protesters sat down both at the front and rear of the vehicle.

As the stand-off reached the hour mark, TSG carriers began to appear fuelling speculation that the Met would soon take steps to move the protesters thus enabling the carrier to depart with the prisoner. Police liaison officers in their distinctive light blue tabards began to move amongst those sitting apparently warning them that they had to move.

Suddenly a male with a megaphone appeared and announced that the police were going to release the prisoner. This was greeted with cheers and minutes later the male re-appeared before announcing that the prisoner had been released by police. This news was greeted with jubilation by those sitting who promptly stood up, grouped together and triumphantly set off along the Strand to Trafalgar Square.

In the meantime, however, when the jubilant sit-down group and escorting officers reached Trafalgar Square, they found that the speeches had concluded and the rally was over. One youthful group congregated in a corner of the Square and, with the aid of a drum, indulged in singing and chanting. Others contented themselves with chatting in small groups and mingling with tourists in what was a relaxed atmosphere. The ‘witching hour,’ when the rally was due to end was 5pm. Shortly afterwards, police liaison officers moved amongst the chanting group whose numbers had diminished. They dispersed without demur and the day of protest was over.

Commanders responsible for the policing of the protest could, justifiably, at this stage feel pleased with their operation. However, this feeling of satisfaction may well have dissolved over the holiday weekend as social media erupted with critical comment from both the left and right.

The incident with protesters blocking the police carrier became the subject of intense speculation. It must be said, police officers on the scene at Aldwych were surprised to hear the announcement that the prisoner was being released. Two rumours have subsequently circulated. The first was that the prisoner had been arrested and then received a caution for the low-level offence. The second was that the prisoner was released after being ‘processed,’ and consideration would be given to a prosecution via a summons at some stage in the future.

However, as far as those on the political right were concerned, this was just another example of woke, two tier, policing that resulted in a total capitulation to ‘mob rule.’

Those on the jubilant, activist, left subsequently stated that this was what could be achieved by direct action against police with a clear implication that it would be repeated at future protests. There was also comment that the individual arrested by was a 12-year-old boy. Those stating this as fact made no comment as to what an unaccompanied 12-year-old boy was doing at such a protest and, if he was 12, who the police would have released him to.

In any event, the Met decided that no comment was necessary in relation to the arrest and release of this individual or the obstruction of the police carrier by the sit-down protesters.

Context and a storm in a coffee cup

Causing an even bigger furore than the Aldwych arrest was a filmed encounter between a Met police sergeant and a pro-Israeli counter-protester. This incident occurred in the area close to where the Israel supporters had gathered to exchange insults with the pro-Palestinians. The march had cleared this contentious area with no serious outbreaks of disorder and the unfortunate sergeant had, probably with others, had taken the opportunity to purchase a coffee at an adjacent eatery, doubtless hoping to relax after a long day. Instead, he was confronted by a female counter-protester who seemed to be alleging that other officers had ignored her request to deal with an individual bearing a placard that displayed a swastika. In fact, it later transpired that the individual in question had been arrested. She offered to identify the suspect to the officer which presumably would entail both sprinting after the march which was now entering Trafalgar Square.

It was hard not to view this as a ‘set-up,’ and there was clear encouragement to the person filming the encounter, to continue. The argument appeared to be that the appearance of a swastika necessitated an arrest. The officer was then ‘shot down in flames,’ when he suggested that ‘context,’ was an issue.

Context clearly is an issue; A placard which shows a swastika followed by ‘Nazi scum off our streets,’ would clearly not require any action from police.

If this placard were displayed; again, it presumably would not provoke a reaction from officers.

HAMAS equals Swastika  ‘mock-up’placard

This placard, like some of the chants heard of these protests, could be interpreted in a number of ways.

The free Palestine Swastika ‘mock-up’ placard.

The above examples, may or may not, at some stage, have appeared somewhere but are examples, created by me, to illustrate the officer’s point that context may well be relevant and such situations that evolve during public order events, are not always straightforward. In any event, as stated above, an arrest of the suspect had been made.

“Coffeegate”

The other much debated issue concerned the possession, during the encounter, by the officer of a cup of coffee which was roundly condemned by some. As was pointed out to critics, the demise of many police canteens due to government cutbacks, has meant that officers now have to take refreshments in public; in fact, many forces positively encourage officers to take their ‘refs’ in public places.

Some suggested the officer should have abandoned his coffee which, given the cost that probably approached £4, he may have been reluctant to do. Others criticised him for actually sipping his coffee while debating the issue.

Whatever the criticism, here we had an officer whose weekend was dominated by the protest and the very public ‘pile-on,’ which also saw at least one attempt on ‘X’ to identify (dox) him with a view to making a formal complaint.

Operational objectives and Met ‘comms.’

What was unnoticed by the crowd of critics, was the fact, as could clearly be seen on one post, that the officer was physically involved in protecting the pro-Israeli protesters from the above- mentioned male in the clerical garb, who went berserk on sighting them.

Forgotten by those critics is the fact that the officer and his colleagues, also labelled as antisemitic by many, would have put their lives on the line in the event of any terrorist attack on the Israeli group. At the back of all officer’s minds would be the damage one, two or just three individuals armed with knives, could do in a few seconds if they were given the opportunity, as shown during previous murderous terrorist events in the UK.

Thus, that officer’s prime responsibility, as he tried to make clear, was the safety of the hugely outnumbered pro-Israeli group. He may or may not have known that other officers were deputed as ‘spotters,’ looking for potentially actionable slogans on placards, banners and posters and relaying any sightings to serials who would be properly equipped to make arrests and retain their prisoner in the face of a potentially angry crowd. That ‘spotting’ task, in itself, is demanding as illustrated by an aerial photograph of a section of the march which showed a plethora of placards and banners amongst a small section of a packed crowd. The term ‘needle in a haystack,’ immediately sprang to mind.

The Met did issue a prompt statement in respect of the swastika placard but, at the time of writing, have not responded to the avalanche of criticism that followed. Having said that, by Monday, there was a significant showing of support on ‘X’ for the officer and his colleagues. The Aldwych incident is still unexplained. 

Challenging public order events lie ahead in April when the less law-abiding protesters will be encouraged by the above events and will probably use alleged police ‘transgressions’ linked to woke ‘two-tier,’ policing as an excuse to abuse and possibly attack police.