Armistice ‘wrong day’ for Gaza protest, Barclay says – as he reveals ‘ongoing’ govt talks despite police green light

Published

2 years ago

November 8, 2023

admin

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has said it would be “provocative” to hold a pro-Palestinian rally on Armistice Day as he revealed there would be “ongoing discussions” within the Cabinet over the planned protest.

Mr Barclay said while he felt “strongly” about the right to protest, next Saturday (11 November) was the “wrong day” to gather in London to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The health secretary was asked for his views about the protest after Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, confirmed it would go ahead because the “legal threshold” to stop it on security grounds “had not been met”.

Sir Mark said people “should be very reassured that we’re going to keep this away from the remembrance and armistice events” but added that legally, there was “no mechanism to ban a gathering, a static protest”.

Politics latest: Labour frontbencher quits over Gaza stance

Asked by Sky’s Kay Burley what he made of Sir Mark’s assessment, the health secretary said: “It is provocative to have protests like this on that day; I think there a lot of other days in the year when protests can happen.”

Rishi Sunak has also branded the planned march as “provocative and disrespectful” and believes it shouldn’t be allowed.

He wrote to Sir Mark and said there was “a clear and present risk” that memorials such as the Cenotaph “could be desecrated”.

Organisers have said the protest will be “well away” from the monument, instead going from Hyde Park to the US embassy, and that it won’t start until after the 11am silence to remember people who died in wars.

Police chief explains why protest will go ahead

Police can ask the home secretary to approve a ban under the Public Order Act if they believe there will be serious public disorder, serious criminal damage, or serious disruption to the community.

The Met chief admitted concern about “splinter groups” and “troublemakers” but said arrests at previous protests were small considering the tens of thousands attending.

He said the force would do “everything in our power” to ensure the Armistice and Remembrance events in London this weekend will “pass without disruption”.

In a statement released by the force, he said: “Over recent weeks we’ve seen an escalation of violence and criminality by small groups attaching themselves to demonstrations, despite some key organisers working positively with us.

“But at this time, the intelligence surrounding the potential for serious disorder this weekend does not meet the threshold to apply for a ban.

“If over the next few days the intelligence evolves, and we reach a threshold where there is a real threat of serious disorder we will approach the home secretary.”

Debate on protest not over

Mr Barclay said that while it was “important we have the right to protest”, Remembrance Day was not the correct moment.

He said there would be “ongoing discussions” after the Met gave the go-ahead for a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza to take place on Armistice Day.

He told Sky News: “I think there’ll be ongoing discussions on this.

“There is a legal threshold and the commissioner is of the view that that legal threshold has not been met.

“Obviously, the Home Office and colleagues will discuss that over the course of the day.”

Politics

Crypto’s path to legitimacy runs through the CARF regulation

Published

14 hours ago

July 5, 2025

admin

Crypto’s path to legitimacy runs through the CARF regulation

The CARF regulation, which brings crypto under global tax reporting standards akin to traditional finance, marks a crucial turning point.

Politics

Tokenized equity still in regulatory grey zone — Attorneys

Published

14 hours ago

July 5, 2025

admin

Tokenized equity still in regulatory grey zone — Attorneys

The nascent real-world tokenized assets track prices but do not provide investors the same legal rights as holding the underlying instruments.

Politics

Rachel Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn budget after welfare bill U-turn

Published

20 hours ago

July 5, 2025

admin

Rachel Reeves hints at tax rises in autumn budget after welfare bill U-turn

Rachel Reeves has hinted that taxes are likely to be raised this autumn after a major U-turn on the government’s controversial welfare bill.

Sir Keir Starmer’s Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill passed through the House of Commons on Tuesday after multiple concessions and threats of a major rebellion.

MPs ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to universal credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.

Initially aimed at saving £5.5bn, it now leaves the government with an estimated £5.5bn black hole – close to breaching Ms Reeves’s fiscal rules set out last year.

In an interview with The Guardian, the chancellor did not rule out tax rises later in the year, saying there were “costs” to watering down the welfare bill.

“I’m not going to [rule out tax rises], because it would be irresponsible for a chancellor to do that,” Ms Reeves told the outlet.

“We took the decisions last year to draw a line under unfunded commitments and economic mismanagement.

“So we’ll never have to do something like that again. But there are costs to what happened.”

Meanwhile, The Times reported that, ahead of the Commons vote on the welfare bill, Ms Reeves told cabinet ministers the decision to offer concessions would mean taxes would have to be raised.

The outlet reported that the chancellor said the tax rises would be smaller than those announced in the 2024 budget, but that she is expected to have to raise tens of billions more.

It comes after Ms Reeves said she was “totally” up to continuing as chancellor after appearing tearful at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Criticising Sir Keir for the U-turns on benefit reform during PMQs, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the chancellor looked “absolutely miserable”, and questioned whether she would remain in post until the next election.

Sir Keir did not explicitly say that she would, and Ms Badenoch interjected to say: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”

In her first comments after the incident, Ms Reeves said she was having a “tough day” before adding: “People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday.

“Today’s a new day and I’m just cracking on with the job.”

Sir Keir also told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby on Thursday that he “didn’t appreciate” that Ms Reeves was crying in the Commons.

“In PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang,” he said. “That’s what it was yesterday.

“And therefore, I was probably the last to appreciate anything else going on in the chamber, and that’s just a straightforward human explanation, common sense explanation.”