Armistice Day pro-Palestine march: mounting calls to 'sack Suella' as hundreds of thousands march in London
Organisers estimate that more than 500,000 people attended the march, making it potentially one of the biggest political marches in UK history
Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in the capital to demand Palestine's freedom, in what may have been one of the largest political marches in British history.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had issued a plea for “unity” amid tensions over the pro-Palestinian march, set to go ahead on Saturday (11 November) - the same day the UK marks the end of the First World War. There had been concerns about the risk of counter-protests, with areas like Whitehall and the Westminster Abbey Field of Remembrance fenced off to prevent protesters getting in - while police were given additional powers to search people for weapons.
The Met Police say there were 126 arrests total, many of them counter protesters who tried to confront people taking place in the march. A number of pro-Palestine protesters who hid their faces and repeatedly set off fireworks - despite organisers asking them not to - were also detained, while nine officers were injured.
However, the march was largely peaceful, with organisers estimating around 750,000 people were in attendance at the biggest demonstration since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on 7 October. Floods of protesters travelled from Hyde Park to the US embassy in Vauxhall, before speeches by both MPs and Palestinians were made on a stage set up near the end of the march.
Scotland Yard said it was a major policing operation, and it deployed nearly 2,000 officers across central London over the weekend, while hours before the demonstration was set to begin, Sky News reports police officers could be seen guarding the Cenotaph - although the march did not go near the monument.
On the eve of the mass protest, the Prime Minister urged those taking part to do so “respectfully and peacefully” and to respect Armistice Day commemorations. “This act of remembrance is fundamental to who we are as a country, and I want to reassure those wishing to pay their respects, attend services and travel that they can and should do so,” Sunak said in a statement.
There were also other pro-Palestine demonstrations across the UK on Saturday, while there have been reports far-right group the National Front is also planning a march to the Cenotaph on Sunday afternoon.
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