Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell agreed to a police interview after pro-Palestine march in London [Getty]
Ben Jamal, the director of the UK’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), has been charged following the massive pro-Palestinian protest in London on Saturday.
The rally, which saw more than 50,000 protesters gathering in the UK capital over the weekend to condemn Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, resulted in over 77 arrests.
The demonstration was met with severe restrictions and arbitrary arrests, despite police initially agreeing to a static protest in Whitehall, according to the organisers.
The protest, organised by the PCS, included key political figures and activists and was aimed at calling for a permanent end to the violence in Gaza and holding Israel accountable following the start of the ceasefire.
The Metropolitan Police accused protesters of a “coordinated effort” to breach conditions that “prevented protesters forming up in the vicinity of a synagogue located a short distance from Portland Place, where the BBC headquarters are located.
However, organisers insist the police misrepresented the events. “The Metropolitan Police has promoted a misleading narrative about the events in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square,” a PSC spokesperson told The New Arab. “This could not be further from the truth.”
Jamal, 61, faces charges under the Public Order Act, including accusations of inciting others to breach protest conditions. He voluntarily attended an interview with police on 21 January and has vigorously denied the charges against him.
The activist has pledged to contest them in court on 21 February. In a statement, the activist condemned the police’s actions as an assault on the right to protest and argued that the crackdown was politically motivated.
“What we saw on Saturday was a huge assault on the right to freedom of assembly and to protest,” he said. “The anti-protest laws introduced under the last Conservative government are an affront to democracy.
Chris Nineham, a leading organiser from Stop the War Coalition, was also arrested after the march. “The police violently and for no apparent reason arrested Chris Nineham,” the PSC said, condemning the arrest as an unjustified crackdown on peaceful protest.
According to organisers, the police crackdown started when a delegation, which included an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, MPs, and prominent cultural figures, attempted to lay flowers at the BBC’s headquarters in a gesture of solidarity with Palestinians.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who now sits as an Independent MP in parliament, was interviewed under caution by police. “We did not force our way through,” Corbyn, who was part of the delegation, said.
“The police allowed us to go through, and when stopped in Trafalgar Square, we laid our flowers down and dispersed.” He told The New Arab he could not comment further on the situation.
This is not an accurate description of events at all.
I was part of a delegation of speakers, who wished to peacefully carry and lay flowers in memory of children in Gaza who had been killed.
This was facilitated by the police. We did not force our way through.
When we… https://t.co/6CQe8w9Nmo
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) January 18, 2025
Labour MP John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, also denied the police’s claims, insisting the procession had been facilitated by the police and that they had no intention of breaching any lines. “We did not force our way through,” he wrote on X.
I spoke at demo & was part of a procession of speakers aiming to go to BBC to lay flowers commemorating the death of Palestinian children. We did not force our way thru, the police allowed us to go thru & when stopped in Trafalgar Square we laid our flowers down & dispersed.1/3 https://t.co/iw5XTn7TWP
— John McDonnell (@johnmcdonnellMP) January 18, 2025
MPs have now asking the Met Police to publish body camera footage while activists demanded the release of Nineham and others detained in the operation.
A spokesperson for Stop the War Coalition said: “These events surrounding last Saturday’s national Palestine march mark a dramatic escalation in attempts to criminalise Palestine solidarity activity.”
Despite the charges, Jamal said: “We will not stop protesting and campaigning until every brick in the wall of apartheid that imprisons and oppresses the Palestinian people is torn down.”
The New Arab has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
