The Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s planned march in London has been canceled, leading to a static protest in Whitehall instead
London: So, there was supposed to be this big Pro-Palestine march in central London, but it got canceled. Instead, folks are now gathering for a static protest at Whitehall.
Things got a bit heated between the Met Police and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) over where the march was supposed to happen. The police were worried that having the protest near the BBC would cause major disruptions, especially for a nearby synagogue.
They had been chatting with the PSC and local community groups for weeks about the plans. The police said they had to think about the synagogue’s congregation, especially since Saturday is a big day for them.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan mentioned that many Jewish Londoners were feeling anxious and had to change their plans because of the protests. They even wrote to the PSC last week, saying that a protest near the synagogue on Saturday could really disrupt things.
Earlier this week, the Met used its powers to block the march and set rules to keep the PSC from gathering outside the BBC. Those rules are still in place for Saturday.
Adelekan made it clear that this decision had nothing to do with the BBC itself. He said if the PSC wanted to protest outside the BBC on another day, they’d be open to working with them.
In response to the police’s earlier actions, the PSC tried to change their route to end outside the BBC, but the Met said that would still cause issues.
They informed the PSC that they couldn’t agree on a route that would work. So, they set new conditions for a different route, starting at Russell Square and ending in Whitehall for a static assembly.
Now, the PSC has decided to go with the static protest in Whitehall from noon to 4:30 PM. More updates are expected soon.
