London is bracing for an “unprecedented” policing operation this Saturday as the capital prepares for two major protest marches and the FA Cup final. The scale of the deployment is described as the largest in recent years.
Thousands of police officers will be deployed across the city, supported by armoured vehicles, police horses, dogs, drones, and helicopters, as the Metropolitan Police aims to prevent potential clashes between various groups.
Heavy restrictions have been implemented to ensure the separation of Tommy Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” rally and the pro-Palestine Nakba Day event.
Authorities are also concerned about the possibility of football fans heading directly from the FA Cup final to the Tommy Robinson-linked event, adding another layer of complexity to the day’s security challenges.
For the first time, under official protest restrictions, organisers of the rallies will face prosecution, as will speakers, if they break the law by using the events as a platform for extremism or hate speech.
Live facial recognition will be used for the first time in a policing operation around a protest, with cameras set up in a location in Camden that is not on the route of the Unite the Kingdom march but is expected to be used by a lot of people attending the event.
There remain more than 50 outstanding and unidentified suspects after violent clashes took place between police and protesters at the previous Unite the Kingdom event in September.
The deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, James Harman, said the scale of the operation is “unprecedented in recent years” and will cost the force £4.5m, £1.7m of which is to cover the cost of bringing in officers from other forces to boost numbers.
Around 4,000 officers are expected to be on duty on Saturday, with 660 being drafted in from forces outside of the Met.
Mr Harman said: “We are policing two significant and potentially challenging protests in the centre of London, as well as the FA Cup final, which is taking place in Wembley on the same day.
“We’re doing this at a time of continued global instability and tension, which we know has the potential to fuel tension and play out on the streets of London; the terrorism threat level has been raised to severe, and in recent weeks and months, we have seen a terrorist attack.
“We’ve seen a sustained campaign of arson targeting Jewish Londoners, against the backdrop of increasing hate crime, in particular antisemitism. So fears in Jewish communities are particularly heightened, but we’ve also seen increased concern more broadly, including in Muslim communities.
“Taken together, these factors give us significant cause for concern as we head into the weekend, and require a policing plan that provides us with the most assertive grip on the movement of large numbers of people, large groups, and the potential for serious disorder and other criminality that may arise as a result.”
Strict conditions have been placed on both marches, with protesters having to follow certain routes at specified times, and to rally in specific locations: Unite the Kingdom starting in Kingsway and ending in Parliament Square, and Nakba Day starting in Exhibition Road in Kensington and ending on Pall Mall.
Mr Harman said that while some pro-Palestine marches had made Jewish people feel unsafe, some Unite the Kingdom demonstrations had made Muslims feel the same way.
Police are expected to monitor any slogans used, and have been in discussion with prosecutors about language that has previously not been criminalised, but could see protesters arrested.
Recent criminal cases have seen suspects charged after shouting “Death to the IDF” (Israel Defense Forces) and “Globalise the intifada”.
Earlier this week, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would block “far-right agitators” from coming to the UK for the Unite the Kingdom march, which he said was “designed to confront and intimidate ... this diverse country”.
So far, the Home Office has blocked seven people from travelling to Britain from overseas for the event.
Police estimate that around 50,000 people will attend the Unite the Kingdom rally, with 30,000 attending the Nakba Day event.
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