The latest pro-Palestine march of hundreds of thousands of protesters through central London will end with a rally near Downing Street after a climbdown from the Metropolitan police.
Following a meeting late on Thursday afternoon, organisers of the march said they had been given permission for the end stage of Saturday’s demonstration to take place on Whitehall.
Just hours earlier the Met had said the “scale and frequency of marches” was causing serious disruption and that they did not support a request to extend the march into Whitehall.
Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), who has been negotiating with the Met over the marches, said the U-turn came at a meeting at 4.45pm on Thursday.
A request for two end rallies, including one in Trafalgar Square, was denied, however, with the Met claiming they had fewer resources than on previous march days to police the protests.
Jamal said he was concerned that this made the protest less safe, but the march stewards would seek to manage the crowds.
Previous claims that the police had not been able to consult with “local stakeholders” such as government offices and commercial businesses about a Whitehall end point appeared to no longer be a factor in the Met’s analysis, he said.
“We said that people were going to go to Whitehall anyway, as it had been the end of previous demonstrations,” he said. “They would not agree to a second stage and we have made clear that this will increase the risks. Their rationale was that they didn’t have the resources to manage the two stages.”
An estimated 300,000 demonstrators are expected to march from the BBC’s headquarters on Portland Place to Whitehall from midday on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Met had refused a request to end the march on Whitehall, a rally point that has been used regularly by those protesting about the events in Gaza.
Jamal had claimed that the Met had bowed to pressure from the government to restrict the marches, which began after the start of the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October in which 1,200 were killed.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, who is leading the policing operation, said: “We respect the right of people to protest, but other Londoners and visitors have rights as well.
“I understand the cumulative impact of repeated protests since October on businesses, residents and those who want to travel into the West End.
“Getting the balance between competing rights can be difficult, but we will do it independently, impartially and always within the law.”
A spokesperson for the Stop the War coalition said: “We are pleased to report that the police have yielded and agreed that our march on 3 February will finish in Whitehall, the seat of government. We wish to thank all of those who have applied pressure to secure this significant victory for the right to protest.
“However, the police have not agreed to our request for a second stage. We have made clear that this makes the task of ensuring public safety much more difficult.
“Those marching for justice and peace, for over three months, have had to encounter intimidation and the imposition of repressive measures, designed to suppress support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom and justice. We will not allow this to stop us marching or to distract us from our central message.”
