The organiser of the sole Armistice Day event at the Cenotaph in central London has given his support for the pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday.
Richard Hughes, from the Western Front Association, a charity that holds a commemoration on 11 November for the casualties of the first world war, said his organisation believed in “freedom of speech”.
“I think a lot of people are trying to whip this up,” said Hughes, the association’s legal trustee, who is also responsible for organising the annual commemoration. “The police are not going to let anyone near the Cenotaph. We are a democratic organisation that commemorates those who fought for democracy, so free speech is important.”
Government ministers, including the home secretary, Suella Braverman, and the justice secretary, Alex Chalk, said they did not believe Saturday’s march should proceed due to a “risk” of remembrance events being disturbed or the Cenotaph being defaced.
On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak said he accepted that the protest would go ahead but claimed the march was “disrespectful” and “offends our heartfelt gratitude to the memory of those who gave so much so that we may live in freedom and peace today”.
Hughes acknowledged that the pro-Palestine march would be an additional drain on police resources and views would vary among the membership of the Western Front Association, but said: “I would hope that the two events could coexist without touching … If I was on one of those demonstrations I might say, ‘They can do their stuff and we will do our stuff.’
“Some of the older members might think that it is not appropriate [to protest on Armistice Day] but it is very hard to be blind to what is going on in the Middle East.”
Guests of honour at the Cenotaph on Saturday will be Lady French, the great-granddaughter of the commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Sir John French; and John Nichol, a retired Royal Air Force navigator who was shot down and captured during the the Gulf war.
The main annual event at the Cenotaph takes place on Remembrance Sunday, which falls this year on 12 November. Until the second world war a commemoration for casualties would also take place on Armistice Day itself. The Western Front Association was inaugurated on 11 November 1980 to further interest in the war of 1914–1918 and reintroduce a moment of reflection at the Cenotaph. Saturday’s event will last for 25 minutes and end with a piper’s lament.
Hughes said security around the event had increased over recent years but he trusted in the judgment of the Met police commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, that there was no risk of serious disruption on Saturday.
• This article was amended on 8 November 2023. An earlier version said that John Nichol was shot down and captured during the Iran-Iraq war; this should have said the Gulf war.
