Met arrest at least 175 in London

It was at the insistence of his wife that Gabriel Pogrund did a shift a few weeks ago as security on the gate of his local synagogue.

He took a short walk to his synagogue near Golders Green, north London, to stand outside, armed with an umbrella and a walkie-talkie, on a Saturday last month.

• Read in full: Why I volunteer at my synagogue — in a stab-proof vest

At least 175 people have been arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation during the protest in Trafalgar Square, police said.

The figure includes the six detained on Westminster Bridge before the main demonstration began.

The Met said on X the policing operation continued. “The arrest phase takes time. Many of those arrested won’t walk out of the square and need to be carried, something that requires a minimum of five officers to do safely,” the force said.

Some supporters on the fringes of the Trafalgar Square protest were holding signs showing support for the Palestinian terror group Hamas. One sign read: “I support Hamas resisting occupation.”

Police are continuing to clear protesters carrying signs supporting Palestine Action. Dozens of large Palestine flags are being waved by supporters as those protesting become concentrated in the centre of the square.

The Manchester march and protest came to an end outside the city’s Central Library.

The crowd stood in silence as the names and ages of some of the thousands of children killed in the Gaza conflict were read out, before protesters dispersed.

Counterterrorism Policing North West have released an update in the terror incident at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue. They said their investigation was “continuing at pace”. They have been granted warrants of further detention for four individuals currently in custody. This means they can remain in custody for a further five days.

They are: men aged 30 and 32, both arrested in Prestwich; a 61-year-old woman, also arrested in Prestwich; a 46-year-old woman, arrested in Farnworth; and an 18-year-old woman and a 43-year-old man, who were arrested in Farnworth. All remain in custody for questioning. They have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.

The chairwoman of the Metropolitan Police Federation has claimed “enough is enough”, describing officers policing further protests in London as “emotionally and physically exhausted”.

Paula Dodds said: “Enough is enough. Our concentration should be on keeping people safe at a time when the country is on heightened alert from a terrorist attack. Instead, officers are being drawn in to facilitate these relentless protests — and we are coming under attack for doing so.

“How can this be right? This appalling level of abuse will not be tolerated and we expect the stiffest sanctions for the perpetrators. We are supporting officers as best we can.”

She continued: “There aren’t enough of us. Hardworking police officers are continually having days off cancelled, working longer shifts and being moved from other areas to facilitate these protests. We are emotionally and physically exhausted. What are politicians and senior police officers going to do about it?”

Police have cleared about a quarter of the sitting protesters in Trafalgar Square.

Those arrested have been taken to a separate processing area near St James’s Park. Dozens more officers have arrived to begin clearing the central area.

With each arrest, the crowd are chanting “shame” and “political policing.” Some supporters standing next to those holding signs were heard telling arresting officers: “You’re a disgrace.”

The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has visited the scene of the Manchester synagogue terror attack which killed two people.

She was joined by the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, and Assistant Chief Constable John Webster as she visited the Heaton Park synagogue in Crumpsall.

Police have chosen not to arrest six people holding up Palestine Action placards outside of Truro Cathedral in Cornwall today, Defend Our Juries has claimed.

The group organising the London protest claimed the decision not to arrest the protesters “exposes Metropolitan Police lies”.

A spokesman claimed the force sent two police liaison officers who described the demo as “lovely and peaceful” and defended their right to protest.

“The protest in Truro shows that it is down to the individual police forces to choose where to direct their resources,” Netpol, the Network for Police Monitoring, said. “The Met is clearly showing their priority is arresting peaceful pensioners sitting with placards.”

Devon and Cornwall police has been contacted for comment.

Elizabeth Morley, a 79-year-old Jewish daughter of a Holocaust survivor, has been arrested by police after holding a placard in support of Palestine Action.

Before the protest, Morley said she had already been arrested twice at two such demonstrations. This arrest marks her third.

She said she was not afraid of being arrested. “I hope it makes the government sit up and listen,” she previously said.

The pro-Palestinian supporters grew to about 100 before speeches began outside Manchester Cathedral this lunchtime.

The first speaker told those gathered not to engage with the media. A second spoke of those killed in the Gaza conflict along with the “resistance” and the “intifada” shouting: “From the river to the sea!”

As a third speaker began, counterprotesters approached, with one holding a Union flag, others shouting “traitors!”, “F*** Hamas” and “God bless the IDF”. Police officers quickly intervened to get between the two sides.

The final speaker ended with a vow to “dismantle the Zionist state” to cheers and applause from the crowd.

Protesters were told a national march is planned in London next week and in Manchester they will march again on October 7, the second anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

The protesters then moved off en masse to march through the city centre.

Protesters holding signs supporting Palestine Action risk prosecution for two Terrorism Act offences of supporting a terrorist group and using images or placards showing their support.

If convicted under section 13 of the Terrorism Act, the most likely penalties are fines, community orders or conditional discharges. However, it can carry a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

Organisers have a pre-arranged law firm, Hodge, Jones & Allen, to help those arrested. Protesters are advised to give “no comment” interviews.

About 1,000 people have joined the demonstration in London to overturn the Palestine Action ban, according to the organisers, Defend Our Juries.

This is less than the 1,500 individuals the group said it anticipated would join the silent vigil.

A spokesman said that throughout the course of the day, the names of 18,500 “Palestinian children slaughtered by Israeli military are being read out, one by one“.

The protest has so far been peaceful, with some minor scuffles breaking out at the fringes as officers make room to carry out their arrests.

David Barry, 79, from Hastings, is taking part in the protest directly in front of Nelson’s Column.

Barry, who was terminally ill with heart failure, said he was a Jewish man who believed what was happening in Gaza was wrong.

“Israel is repeating history and doing what was done during the Second World War,” he said.
“I want to support the people in Palestine and resist this ridiculous idea that Palestine Action is a terrorist group.”

He said the attack at the Manchester synagogue this week was not a reason to suspend the protest, adding it was important to have freedom of expression and not to give in to terrorism.

Police arrested a vicar who was sat in Trafalgar Square holding a poster declaring support for the banned group Palestine Action.

Officers carried the woman out of the crowd in Trafalgar Square after she did not respond to requests to stand up.

People in the crowd shouted “shameful” as the woman was taken away, Press Association reported.

More than 67,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the war began two years ago, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The death toll was updated by officials on Saturday, after Hamas said it accepted parts of President Trump’s peace plan including the release of Israeli hostages.

Israel struck Gaza on Saturday, local authorities told Reuters, after Trump’s call for an immediate halt to the bombing.

Israeli fire was said to have killed six people across the Gaza Strip. One strike killed four people in a house in Gaza City, while another killed two others in Khan Younis in the south, medical workers and local authorities said.

In St Peter’s Square in Manchester a number of stalls have been set up for the group Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine.

Nearby a woman is reading out the names of children who have died in Gaza into a microphone, as police prepare for the arrival of the demonstrators.

One officer said: “They are on their way.”

Trafalgar Square is busy but many of the people here appear to be supporters and observers rather than participants in the protest.

There are several hundred people expressing support for Palestine Action. Police are continuing to make arrests, including several elderly people who have been carried or led away to a processing area near St James’s Park.

Near St Nelson’s column a women’s choir has started singing Bella Ciao, the Italian anti-fascist folk song.

Police have begun making the first arrests of the main group of protestors. Dozens of officers have marched over to the square and lifted up activists holding signs in support of Palestine Action.

Most of the protesters go limp when it comes to the arrest, requiring at least four or five officers to pick them up and take them to a processing area nearby.

As officers stream in, the nearby crowd applauds those being arrested and shout: “Met Police, shame on you!”

Pro-Palestinian protests are taking place today in Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Thousands of people are marching in Barcelona to call for an end to the war in Gaza, with further demonstrations planned at several other Spanish cities including Madrid.

Marches are set to take place in Rome and Lisbon later in response to Israel’s interception of the humanitarian aid flotilla and the arrest of activists including Greta Thunberg.

Police have begun entering the protest area and warning protesters that they could be arrested and searched.

In line with the advice of organisers, protesters are refusing to speak to police or answer questions.

The crowd are surrounded by vocal supporters and people filming the interactions.

As the clock strikes one, several hundred protesters have taken their seats in Trafalgar Square and have begun writing their message on blank placards: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

They are watched by dozens of police officers standing nearby, lined up in formation ready to swoop in and arrest those believed to be supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation.

At first glance, it seems as though there are far fewer than the 1,500 protesters that were anticipated this morning.

Elizabeth Morley, 79, travelled from Wales for the London protest. On her lapel is a Palestinian flag badge and in her hands is a sign that says “I oppose genocide”. The rest has been left blank in anticipation for the protest to begin at 1pm.

Morley said she was Jewish and that her parents fled the Holocaust from their native Hungary.

“I have always supported Palestine and I think it’s wrong that the government has turned protestors who opposed a genocide into a terrorist organisation,” she said.

The London protest is going ahead despite pleas from the Metropolitan Police to cancel the demonstration.

The force said that the manpower needed to arrest as many as 1,500 people would divert resources away from protecting synagogues and mosques after the synagogue attack in Manchester on Thursday.

Defend Our Juries, the organisers, said: “The protection of our democracy and the prevention of countless deaths are critical issues. Therefore, our protest will go ahead as planned.”

If 1,500 people are arrested today in Trafalgar Square, it has the potential to be the largest mass arrest event in modern British history.

The previous record number of arrests at a single event was 1,314, made by the Metropolitan Police during the Committee of 100’s anti-nuclear demonstration in Trafalgar Square in 1961.

The first six arrests for supporting Palestine Action have been made before the planned demonstration began.

At about midday, a group of six people unfurled a banner declaring support for Palestine Action on Westminster Bridge.

A statement from the Met Police said that officers were “quickly on scene, the banner had been removed and the six people involved have been arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation”.

Participants in the London protest are asked to hold signs with the same wording as past demonstrations: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

Such a sign potentially breaches the Terrorism Act for showing support for a proscribed organisation.

Organisers have asked protesters to bring a blank placard which they will write on before sitting down in Trafalgar Square from 1pm.

They are hoping for more than 1,500 people to take part.

About 50 pro-Palestinian demonstrators have gathered in a car park by Manchester Cathedral in the city centre, holding a banner reading “Stop Arming Israel”.

The group intends to march to St Peter’s Square, by the Central Library, close to where preparations are currently being made for the Conservative Party conference. About ten counterprotesters have arrived with a banner reading: “F**k Hamas.”

In just under an hour a protest in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action will get underway in central London. Defend Our Juries, who organised the event, said it was expecting about 1,500 people to turn up to Trafalgar Square today.

In the square right now, there are few signs of the mass demonstration that is to come. Tourists are milling around outside the National Gallery and a nearby busker is singing My Way by Frank Sinatra.

But alongside the edge of the square, dozens of police vans are parked and waiting, including the Territorial Support Group and police from the City of London, who are supporting the Met today.

At the group’s past protest on September 6, almost 900 people were detained, 857 of those for showing support for a proscribed organisation.

Sir Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood are decent, deeply committed public servants who have formed strong bonds with Jewish communities in Britain (John Woodcock writes).

So when the prime minister and the home secretary promised to do “whatever it takes” to keep British Jews safe in the aftermath of Thursday’s heinous attack on Heaton Park Synagogue, it is clear their pledge was genuinely meant.

But will it make a difference in this dark hour? The frightening reality of life for so many Jews in Britain, and the deadening sense of doubt that the country still has their back, shows how much the government will need to raise its game to make good on its promise.

• Read in full: Allowing protests does little to uphold PM’s promise to British Jews

Greater Manchester police have stepped up patrols at synagogues in the area to reassure the Jewish community after the terror attack that killed two people.

A spokesman said: “We’re continuing to respond effectively to emergencies in the region while ensuring that every available officer in Greater Manchester is currently deployed to provide reassurance, particularly amongst our Jewish communities, at what is a time of profound distress and sorrow.

“We have been patrolling places of worship across the city-region, with a particular focus on providing a high-visibility presence within our Jewish communities in north Manchester, Bury and Salford.”

It is “phenomenally tone deaf” for pro-Palestine protests to go ahead after the Manchester synagogue attack, a leader of the Community Security Trust said.

Dave Rich, director of policy at the charity which provides security to the Jewish community, told the Radio 4 Today programme: “I think it’s phenomenally tone deaf, to say the least, for so many people who claim to care about human rights and care about freedoms, to be taking police resources away from protecting the rights and freedoms of Jewish people to live their lives and go to synagogue in safety, all to support a proscribed terrorist organisation, which is not the same thing as supporting the Palestinians. The two are not the same.

“And I think it’s remarkably self-absorbed and insensitive to say the least.”

It is “disgraceful” that pro-Palestine marches are set to go ahead after the Heaton Park synagogue attack, the shadow home secretary has said.

Chris Philp, a Conservative former policing minister, told BBC Breakfast: “I don’t think these protests should go ahead at all.

“I think it’s extremely insensitive, grossly insensitive to the Jewish community in Manchester, but across the whole United Kingdom, who are still grieving following the appalling murder that we saw on Thursday morning.

“And secondly both the police in Greater Manchester but also the Metropolitan Police in London have said that the resources, the police resources required to police these protests mean they may not be able to properly protect synagogues and the Jewish community at this obviously very sensitive time.

A member of Defend Our Juries, the group behind a pro-Palestine protest in London today, said it would be “unwise” to heed calls to cancel it.

The human rights campaigner Sir Jonathon Porritt told the Radio 4 Today programme: “I have no doubt whatsoever that everyone taking part in the Defend Our Juries silent vigil today will demonstrate huge respect and real grief for those affected by the absolute atrocity at Heaton Park [synagogue].

“But I don’t think that means that we should be asked to give up on our right to stand up for those who are being devastated by an ongoing, real-time genocide in Gaza.”

Asked about calls from politicians to delay the protest, he said: “I think that would be an unwise move for Defend Our Juries. We’ve been persistent in trying to bring these concerns to the attention of the government.”

Sir Keir Starmer has urged those considering protesting today to “respect the grief of British Jews” as this is “not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain” after the attack on a Manchester synagogue on Thursday.

The prime minister wrote on X this morning: “This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain. It is a time to stand together.

“We are a country that welcomes all people, no matter their faith, to stand under the same flag as neighbours and friends.

“That is who we are and who we will always be. Hatred and violence will never win.”