Pro-Palestinian protest in London: Row over Suella Braverman’s claim of police bias
Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s attacks on the Met Police over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests has erupted into a row.
Braverman wrote in the Times accusing the force of applying a “double standard” to its policing of protests. She claimed aggressive right-wing protesters were “rightly met with a stern response”, while “pro-Palestinian mobs” were “largely ignored”.
The Met Police says it has no grounds to ban the march which is on the same day as Armistice Day.
PM Rishi Sunak has told Met boss Mark Rowley that he will be held accountable if there is any trouble on Saturday.
Braverman said the pro-Palestinian marches, which began last month in response to Israel’s siege of Gaza, had been “problematic” because of “violence around the fringes” as well as “highly offensive” chants, posters and stickers.
“Right-wing and nationalist protesters who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law,” she wrote.
The article has been widely condemned by former police officers and MPs, with opposition parties and some Conservatives calling for her to be sacked as home secretary.