Met accused of ‘two-tier policing’ after blocking march to ‘reclaim Whitechapel from Islamists’ due to ‘community concerns’

A counter-demonstration backed by Tower Hamlets’ mayor Lutfur Rahman and a number of left-wing groups went ahead as planned.

That protest saw large groups of Muslim demonstrators, many dressed in black and donning black face masks, vowing to “defend” the area from the far-right.

One demonstrator, holding a megaphone, shouted: “They came specifically targeting Islam.

“They said, ‘we are coming on a crusade’, they said ‘we need to take back our streets’.

"We stand firm to let them know if you come, we will stand firm and will be ready to defend our elders, to defend our women, to defend our community.

“We have never once said we were going on crusades or going into your areas to cause you problems.

"You are coming into our homes and you want to cause us problems. What is wrong with us standing up?”

Crowds chanted slogans in Arabic, including the famous “from the river to the sea" chant labelled antisemitic by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and waved the flags of Bangladesh and Palestine. Some also prayed in the middle of the road outside a local mosque.

Commander Nick John, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said in a statement: “It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location. This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through East London would cause.”  

He added: “We have a responsibility to use the powers available to us to take steps to avoid both those outcomes”.

Rahman welcomed news of the cancellation of the UKIP march, saying that it “would have caused significant disruption and intimidation in our local community, and spread fear and prejudice.”

He added that the planned counter-demonstration would still go ahead “to celebrate our diversity and unity.”

The cancellation was also welcomed by Labour figures. The MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, Rushanara Ali, who yesterday met with Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to highlight her concerns about the march, said: “This demonstration was a blatant attempt to spread division, hate and fear. The East End stands together – our unity and diversity will always be our strength”.

However, the force has been accused of being inconsistent with its approach to demonstrations on the capital’s streets – particularly, for permitting pro-Palestine protests on a regular basis despite concerns expressed by members of the Jewish community over the slogans often chanted and placards that have been displayed on these marches.

Reposting the Met’s statement announcing the UKIP march ban, former home secretary Suella Braverman commented simply: “Two tier policing”.

Other Conservatives offered similar criticism: “So you can ban demonstrations when you want to”, said former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost.

London Assembly member and former mayoral candidate Susan Hall added: “I wonder if the Met Police will understand why this will incense so many. I wonder if Labour politicians will understand. Sadly I very much doubt it.”

The JC has previously reported that it took the Met over a year to intervene to prevent regular anti-Israel demonstrations from being staged in Swiss Cottage, just metres from two synagogues.

Earlier this month, the Met were also criticised by the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism, Joani Reid, for allowing a demonstration by a group called “Intifada 87” to take place outside Downing Street on the second anniversary of October 7.

UKIP accused the Met of cancelling the march “due to threats of violence from the local Islamist community” and attempted to link the restrictions on their protest in Tower Hamlets with the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from their side’s clash with Aston Villa next month.

Its protest was moved to Marbel Arch, where leader Nick Tenconi called for a “ninth crusade” against Islamism and Communism.

A spokesperson for the Met said: “We haven’t banned the UKIP protest, we’ve imposed conditions to prevent it taking place in Tower Hamlets.

“We have used the same and similar powers to prevent protests taking place in the vicinity of synagogues and in areas with significant Jewish populations on numerous occasions over the past two years. We have done so in large part as a result of engagement with Jewish Londoners and in response to their concerns.”

They added: “Just this month, on the anniversary of October 7, we imposed a substantial exclusion zone in the Westminster area to ensure a memorial event taking place, organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, could go ahead without disruption from opposing groups.”