Rishi Sunak vows to hold Metropolitan Police chief ‘accountable’ for allowing pro-Palestinian protest on Armistice Day

Rishi Sunak has said he will hold the chief of the Metropolitan Police “accountable” for allowing a pro-Palestinian demonstration to go ahead on Armistice Day.

The prime minister will meet Sir Mark Rowley to discuss the planned protest, which is set to go ahead on 11 November, later on Wednesday.

It comes a day after Sir Mark resisted pressure heaped on the force by politicians to try to block the protest, which will call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

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Speaking during a visit to a school in Lincolnshire on Wednesday, the prime minister said: “This is a decision that the Metropolitan Police commissioner has made.

“He has said that he can ensure that we safeguard remembrance for the country this weekend as well as keep the public safe.

“Now, my job is to hold him accountable for that.”

Sir Mark said the demonstration on Saturday would go ahead because the “legal threshold” to stop it on security grounds “had not been met”.

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

Mr Sunak said his meeting with Sir Mark will discuss how police will ensure the protesters will be kept away from Remembrance Day events.

He added: “More broadly, my view is that these marches are disrespectful and that’s what I’ll be discussing with the police commissioner later today.”

Mr Sunak has previously branded the planned march as “provocative and disrespectful” and said it shouldn’t be allowed.

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

The meeting comes as police guard the Rochdale Cenotaph in Greater Manchester after three incidents this week.

The prime minister called the vandalism of war memorials “absolutely sickening”.

“This weekend will be about the country coming together to pay tribute and recognise the sacrifice of so many over so many years,” he said.

“That’s what I’ll be doing. I think that’s what the vast majority of this country will be doing this weekend – marking that moment with the dignity and respect that it deserves.”

Organisers have said the protest in London on Saturday will be “well away” from the Cenotaph in Whitehall, 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.

The Met had urged them to “urgently reconsider” the event because of a growing risk of violence, but the pro-Palestinian coalition behind it have refused to call it off.

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.

But Sir Mark said use of this power is “incredibly rare” and must be reserved for cases where there is intelligence to suggest a “real threat” of trouble.

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

“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,” he added.

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Debate on protest not over

Earlier, Health Secretary Steve 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.

He told Sky News: “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.”