Met Police arrest 29 people at London pro-Palestine protest, as tens of thousands call for ceasefire

Police arrested 29 people yesterday (November 4) as tens of thousands joined a largely peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration in central London.

Protesters marched towards Trafalgar Square and held sit-ins held at Oxford Circus and Charing Cross as they called for a ceasefire to the conflict in the Middle East.

Since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, Gaza has been under almost constant bombardment by Israeli forces. More than 1,400 Israelis and 9,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed.

London mayor Sadiq Khan is among those to have publicly called for a ceasefire, warning "substantial military escalation" will only "deepen the humanitarian disaster" in Gaza.

Both the government and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer have instead pushed for a "humanitarian pause", with pressure mounting on Sir Keir in particular due to his stance on the conflict.

The Met Police, which was issuing updates on X during the most recent demonstration, said late last night that it had arrested 29 people for crimes including inciting racial hatred, other racially motivated crimes, violence and assaulting a police officer.

Commander Karen Findlay said: “The vast majority of people demonstrated peacefully during an extremely busy day in central London, with protests in a number of locations requiring a policing presence.

“It is disappointing that various splinter groups were again responsible for behaviour which has no place in London and we are determined to deal with this robustly. Fireworks were directed towards officers and four officers were injured.

“Today, we dealt with breakaway groups from the main protest quickly. Officers intervened to prevent further disruption, using the full range of powers at their disposal. This effective intervention ensured Londoners were able to go about their business.

“I would like to say thank you to all the officers on duty today, including the support we had from a number of colleagues on mutual aid from other forces, all of whom worked tirelessly throughout a long day.”

Other protests were held in cities across the UK, including Belfast, Liverpool and Leeds.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a ceasefire until hostages held by Hamas are released.

Several politicians have also raised concerns about plans to hold a major protest next Saturday, on Armistice Day. UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said it would be “provocative and disrespectful”, with “a clear and present risk that the Cenotaph and other war memorials could be desecrated”.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley wrote to Mr Sunak saying the force will take a “robust approach” and will use all the powers available “to ensure events in Whitehall and the surrounding areas as well as other locations of significance across London are not undermined”.

The coalition behind the weekly demonstrations demanding a ceasefire, which includes groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Muslim Association of Britain, said it has no intention of marching near Whitehall “in order not to disrupt events at the Cenotaph”, and that it will not begin until around 12.45pm, almost two hours after the minute silence is held.

“Each of the demonstrations we have called have been peaceful and attended by hundreds of thousands of people and families from a diverse cross-section of British society,” the group added in a statement. “Those marching are united in their belief that violence should stop and that international law – which prohibits the targeting and killing of civilians – should be respected. 

“To suggest that a march well away from Whitehall is a disrespect to the war dead is an insult to those marching for peace.”