Eleven people were arrested as pro-Palestine demonstrations went ahead across London on the third anniversary of October 7, after repeated calls from the Met for the protests to be banned or moved to another day.
Five people were arrested in Camden after allegedly shouting or chanting slogans calling for “intifada” during what the Metropolitan Police described as a “spontaneous protest” outside the Board of Deputies of British Jews. Police said the arrests were for inciting racial hatred.
Later, four people attending a pro-Palestine student march were arrested for alleged breaches of the Public Order Act, while another person at a counter-protest in Holborn was arrested on the same grounds. A further person at one of the student rallies was arrested for 'common assault'.
Despite the pressure surrounding the demonstrations, student groups continued to mobilise. Around 100 pro-Palestine protesters marched through London chanting “free, free Palestine” and “free the people, free the land”, while a banner at the back of the march read: “Holocaust survivor descendants against Gaza genocide”.
A separate rally was held at Queen Mary University in east London, while student-led pro-Palestine demonstrations also took place at Edinburgh and Glasgow universities.
The protests had faced significant political and institutional opposition. Jewish student leaders had described the plans as “outrageous”, while Defence Secretary Wes Streeting called the demonstrations “shameful”. Education Secretary Lucy Powell urged students to protest on another day, while Universities UK backed the Met’s request that the demonstrations be moved.
The protests proceeded irrespective of this.
The arrests, particularly those connected to chants calling for “intifada”, come amid heightened police restrictions around pro-Palestine demonstrations. The protests have nonetheless continued on each anniversary of October 7th since 2023, despite calls for demonstrations to be cancelled or postponed, strict policing and the threat of arrest.
The result was a day in which the exercise of the right to protest itself became a central point of confrontation, with demonstrators continuing to march while police made arrests under public-order and racial-hatred legislation.
