#public-order-policing

#public-order-policing

More than 4,000 police officers were deployed to the capital to manage a so-called "sterile zone" between a rally organised by far-right figure Tommy Robinson, and a pro-Palestinian demonstration. Nelson's Column was surrounded by metal barriers. Police officers from Wales in riot uniforms prevented anyone getting from the National Gallery to Pall Mall and Regent Street. Police vehicles lined The Mall from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. On the steps above Churchill War Rooms, a two-meter-high metal barrier blocked the road past the Foreign Office towards Whitehall.

Defend Our Juries, the group which has been organising the protests in London, said it intended to go ahead with its action on Saturday, and it urged the police to focus on protecting those communities fearing reprisals or follow-up terror attacks. We urge you to choose to prioritise protecting the community, rather than arresting those peacefully holding signs in opposition to the absurd and draconian ban of a domestic direct action group, Defend Our Juries told the Metropolitan police in a letter of reply.

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"In a very violent situation, we need to make sure that we're not suffering members being injured, as opposed to having the vehicles and the equipment, including water cannons, which can probably deal with very violent disorder. So that's what they're there for."