HALF of all Brits support banning pro-Palestine marches in London on Armistice Day, a new poll has found.
The study from YouGov, carried out among 2080 people from November 7-8, revealed that while 34% of respondents want the demonstrations to go ahead, some 50% would rather they be banned completely.
The area most likely to support the march was London, where 48% felt the event should be held, opposed to 38% who would ban it.
In Scotland, some 46% of poll respondents said the march should be banned, compared to 35% who want it to go ahead.
Elsewhere, respondents were asked how the UK Government should respond to Israeli’s military action in Gaza. More than half (53%) support a ceasefire – with 31% believing Israel’s actions should be opposed, and 22% wanting Westminster to support the state.
Just 7% felt the UK should support Israel’s bombardment of Gaza without calls for a ceasefire.
Police are allowing the march to go ahead, with the Prime Minister acknowledging that the protest won't clash with Armistice Day events. Additionally, the route does not go near the Cenotaph or other major war memorials.
However, senior Conservatives have railed against the pro-ceasefire event and argue it shouldn't be allowed to go ahead.
Rishi Sunak said the protest would be "disrespectful", but accepted that veterans fought for the UK's freedom - and said “part of that freedom is the right to peacefully protest”.
Meanwhile in a Times article on Thursday, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said aggressive right-wing protesters are met with a stern response by officers while “pro-Palestinian mobs” are “largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law”.
The former chief inspector of constabulary Sir Tom Winsor said Braverman’s comment “crosses the line” by breaking the convention that a Home Secretary should not question the operational integrity of the police.
Braverman said: “I do not believe that these marches are merely a cry for help for Gaza.
“They are an assertion of primacy by certain groups – particularly Islamists – of the kind we are more used to seeing in Northern Ireland. Also disturbingly reminiscent of Ulster are the reports that some of Saturday’s march group organisers have links to terrorist groups, including Hamas.”
Braverman claimed “there is a perception that senior police officers play favourites when it comes to protesters”.
The Home Secretary’s comments have been widely condemned and have sparked a fresh row within the Conservative Party, after ministers have in recent days already sought to distance themselves from another broadside by Braverman.
