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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.

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Will pro-Palestine marches be banned on Armistice Day?

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.”

Read more:
Labour shadow minister resigns over Starmer’s Gaza position
Explained: Can you ban a protest?

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.”

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Starmer ran the gauntlet with Trump but just about emerged intact

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Starmer ran the gauntlet with Trump but just about emerged intact

When TV cameras are let in to film world leaders meeting in person, the resulting footage is usually incredibly boring for journalists and incredibly safe for politicians.

Not with Donald Trump.

Sir Keir Starmer ran the gauntlet on Monday.

Trump latest: President treats PM to a ride on Air Force One

Put through a total of almost 90 minutes of televised questioning alongside the American leader, it was his diciest encounter with the president yet.

But he still just about emerged intact.

For a start, he can claim substantive policy wins after Trump announced extra pressure on Vladimir Putin to negotiate a ceasefire and dialled up the concern over the devastating scenes coming from Gaza.

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There were awkward moments aplenty though.

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Trump calls London mayor a ‘nasty person’

Top of the list is Mr Trump’s trashing of the prime minister’s Labour colleague, London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.

But more important than that, Monday’s meeting was the clearest representation of the political gulf that separates the two leaders.

“He’s slightly more liberal than me,” Mr Trump said of Sir Keir when he arrived in Scotland.

What an understatement.

Read more:
Trump reignites row with Sir Sadiq Khan

EU leaders resigned to US trade deal

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain. Christopher Furlong/Pool via REUTERS
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The two leaders held talks in front of the media. Pic: Reuters

On green energy, immigration, taxation and online regulation, the differences were clear to see.

Sir Keir just about managed to paper over the cracks by chuckling at times, choosing his interventions carefully and always attempting to sound eminently reasonable.

At times, it had the energy of a man being forced to grin and bear inappropriate comments from his in-laws at an important family dinner.

But hey, it stopped a full Trump implosion – so I suppose that’s a win.

My main takeaway from this Scotland visit though is not so much the political gulf present between the two men, but the gulf in power.

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Trump gives Putin new deadline to end war

Sir Keir flew the length of the country he leads to be the guest at the visiting president’s resort.

He was then forced to sit through more than an hour of uncontrolled, freewheeling questioning from a man most of his party and voters despise, during which he was offered unsolicited advice on how to beat Nigel Farage and criticised (albeit indirectly) on key planks of his government’s policy platform.

In return he got warm words about him (and his wife) and relatively incremental announcements on two foreign policy priorities.

So why does he do it?

Because, to borrow a quote from a popular American political TV series: “Air Force One is a big plane and it makes a hell of a noise when it lands on your head.”

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Big brands are sleepwalking when it comes to stablecoins

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Big brands are sleepwalking when it comes to stablecoins

Big brands are sleepwalking when it comes to stablecoins

With Amazon and Walmart exploring stablecoins, institutions may be underestimating potential exposure of customer data on blockchains, posing risks to privacy and brand trust.

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ECB adviser doubts digital euro can match US dollar stablecoins

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ECB adviser doubts digital euro can match US dollar stablecoins

ECB adviser doubts digital euro can match US dollar stablecoins

The European Central Bank may rely on regulated euro stablecoins and private innovation to counter the dominance of US dollar stablecoins, says adviser Jürgen Schaaf.

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