Recent protests in London have brought about discussions on whether the police may require new powers to prevent people from scaling war memorials. A breakaway group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators scaled the Royal Artillery Memorial at London’s Hyde Park Corner on Wednesday. Although the demonstrators’ actions were inflammatory, Met Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said that they did not break any laws. The fact that police did not have powers to prevent such behavior has led to government officials discussing possible further measures so that officers can take action in the future.
According to a statement from No. 10, such behavior cannot be tolerated, and the public will have been both shocked and appalled by what they saw. Protesters had been advocating for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict, and as they marched outside the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday night, a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators filmed themselves climbing up the Hyde Park Corner monument. The memorial was built to commemorate the thousands of soldiers from the Royal Artillery who died during World War One.
In addition to increasing police powers to respond to protests, the government is also reportedly considering lowering the threshold for when police might request a ban on marches. Such decisions would strengthen the police’s power to deal with protesters, though police officers have advised caution when considering additional measures.
The demonstrations were scheduled to put pressure on the Israeli government to end the ongoing conflict with Palestine. Israel’s air strikes on Gaza were in response to the Hamas missile attacks, which were conducted on 7 October and resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people and over 200 hostages. The health ministry in Gaza reports that over 11,500 people have been killed since then
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More