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Masked protesters have joined a pro-Palestinian student march through central London despite a Metropolitan Police order banning participants from concealing their identities.
Footage seen by Jewish News shows a number of demonstrators with their faces covered as protesters gathered at Lincoln’s Inn Fields on Wednesday, exactly three years after the 7 October Hamas attacks.
The apparent breaches came after the Met imposed strict conditions on the demonstration and warned that anyone who failed to comply could be arrested.
Police had explicitly ordered: “No one taking part in the form-up assembly, procession or rally may wear a face covering that conceals their identity.”
But footage from Wednesday shows several protesters with much of their faces obscured as the demonstration made its way through central London under a heavy police presence.
Around 100 people had gathered shortly before midday, according to the Daily Mail. Footage seen by Jewish News shows protesters chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
Holocaust educator Dov Forman, who attended the demonstration, accused officers of failing to enforce the face-covering restriction.
“The police imposed a ban on face coverings at today’s march,” he wrote on X.
“I’ve been here for an hour and have seen dozens of protesters with their faces covered, and the police are doing nothing about it.
“What is the point of conditions you won’t enforce? Do your job, @metpoliceuk.”
Separately, five people were arrested at a protest outside the offices of the Board of Deputies of British Jews in Camden on Wednesday morning.
The Met said the five were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred over alleged slogans calling for “intifada”.
In a statement, the force said: “Earlier this morning, officers made arrests at a spontaneous protest outside the British Board of Deputies in Camden.
“Five people were arrested for inciting racial hatred, involving allegedly shouting or chanting slogans calling for intifada.
“They remain in police custody. The protest in Camden has now ended.”
Board of Deputies president Phil Rosenberg said the protesters had attempted to intimidate the organisation on the anniversary of the massacre.
“On the anniversary of the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, masked protesters demonstrated outside our office today, chanting about ‘intifada’ and harassing our neighbours,” he said.
“We are grateful to the Metropolitan Police for their swift response and for making arrests on the spot.
“We will not be threatened or intimidated by this small and extremist minority of British society. We will continue undeterred to advocate for the Jewish people, here and around the world, and to stand up for peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the wider Middle East.”
Footage from the demonstration from Campaign Against Antisemitism showed masked protesters carrying placards accusing the Jewish representative body of being “Israel’s mouthpiece” and “a shield for Israel’s crimes”, while another described it as the “Board of genocide deniers”.
Demonstrators were also heard chanting “stop killing babies” and “we will see you in The Hague”.
The arrests came after Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman warned ahead of Wednesday’s demonstrations that officers would take action over criminal behaviour.
“Anyone who breaches these conditions or commits offences should be under no illusion they will face arrest,” he said.
“We have zero tolerance for hate crime and those who chant or display placards calling for intifada or encourage unlawful extremism will be arrested.”
The Met had announced restrictions on the student march on Tuesday following days of concern over plans to demonstrate on the anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
The march had initially been advertised as travelling from King’s College London in the Strand towards University College London.
Police instead ordered protesters to assemble in a designated area of Lincoln’s Inn Fields by 12.30pm before following a prescribed route along Remnant Street, Kingsway and Southampton Row to Russell Square.
The rally was required to finish by 2pm, when those taking part had to disperse.
Harman said ahead of the march: “This will be a day of mourning and reflection for many in London and we know the serious concerns that this event has caused Jewish communities in particular.
“We have imposed stringent conditions on those taking part in this march. These will help us manage the event and minimise serious disruption.”
The march went ahead despite repeated appeals from the Met for students to choose another date.
Police had previously struggled to identify an individual prepared to accept responsibility for organising the demonstration, although the force said it could identify groups involved through their social media posts.
The event was advertised by the University of London Coalition, which called on students to take to the streets over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The Met said the absence of an identified individual organiser did not itself meet the legal criteria required for the procession to be banned.
Harman said: “We hear the calls for this event to be banned. The police cannot ban protests and can only ask the Home Secretary to do so if the risk of serious disorder is so high that it can’t be managed by conditions. That high bar is not met here.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) had strongly criticised the Met’s approach before the restrictions were imposed, arguing that officers already had powers available to them.
CAA said on Sunday: “The Met can (without needing anyone’s permission) curtail the route, timing and numbers of people on any march that may cause ‘serious disruption to the life of the community’. That would be a use of existing powers under section 12 of the Act.
“The Met can ban face coverings. The Met can mobilise sufficient resources to arrest those who flout the law.”
The organisation also argued that the failure to provide police with an organiser’s name and address meant the march was illegal, a position disputed by the Met.
Union of Jewish Students president Raphi Leon had also condemned the decision to demonstrate on the anniversary.
“There are 365 days of the year. The decision to protest on this day is provocative, deliberate and must be condemned to the fullest extent,” he said.
King’s College London said ahead of the demonstration that Strand-facing entrances to three of its buildings would be closed for the “safety and wellbeing of our students”.
A further student protest is due to take place at Marble Arch between 1pm and 4pm on Wednesday.
The Met said beforehand that it would impose conditions requiring that demonstration to take place away from Marble Arch because people may wish to attend nearby synagogues on the anniversary.
The protests are taking place as the Jewish community marks three years since Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza.
The Board of Deputies is due to hold a communal remembrance event in central London later on Wednesday to honour those murdered in the attacks.
Jewish News has asked the Metropolitan Police whether officers took enforcement action against protesters who apparently breached the face-covering restriction and whether they made any arrests specifically related to the condition.
• Can you help identify any of these protesters? Email us at editorial@jewishnews.co.uk
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