Pro-Palestine marches have been hijacked, says minister

Pro-Palestine marches have been “hijacked” by people looking to sow division in the UK, a Home Office minister has said amid calls to ban the demonstrations.

Terror watchdog Jonathan Hall has called for a moratorium on the marches following the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green on Wednesday, saying they had “incubated” antisemitism.

Asked whether she agreed with Mr Hall, victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said it was “a fact” that the marches had seen “antisemitic activity”.

She told Times Radio: “We have seen chants of death, calls for global intifada, and that is wrong.”

Adding that people had “the right to protest the actions of Israel”, Ms Davies-Jones said: “I think it’s really, really important here that we recognise that not everybody on these marches is antisemitic.

“They have been hijacked by certain individuals who are seeking to cause division and hatred in our country, and are using these marches and are using these positions to cause fear and intimidation.”

London has seen regular pro-Palestine marches since the latest round of the conflict in Gaza began in 2023, and further demonstrations are planned for May 16.

Ms Davies-Jones told ITV’s Good Morning Britain anyone considering attending a demonstration should “check themselves”.

She said: “Look at what they’re doing, look at who you’re standing next to and what is being said, what they’re wearing.

“Because this is a responsibility on all of us to prevent the rise in division and hatred that we’re seeing in our country, and to prevent anyone from feeling unsafe, intimidated or alarmed.”

Ministers have faced calls to ban the marches in the context of recent attacks on the Jewish community, with demonstrators accused of antisemitic chanting or holding antisemitic signs.

In a statement on Thursday, Sir Keir Starmer backed the prosecution of people chanting “globalise the intifada” during protests, while the Metropolitan Police is reviewing whether future marches can go ahead.

The police lack the power to ban demonstrations outright, but can place conditions on marches or, in extreme cases, restrict them to a static event.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said he was “concerned” about the scale of upcoming protests, adding his force was “looking hard at what conditions and powers we should use”.

Asked whether there should be a moratorium on the marches, Sir Mark told LBC it was a matter for Parliament.