They said at the time: “We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine.”
The CPS advice was issued some time before the Al Quds Day rally and not during the protest itself.
Former attorney general Sir Michael Ellis KC has called for clarity around the advice, telling the JC that the Jewish community is “entitled to know under what basis those decisions have been taken.”
“For over two years now, the police have failed to respond adequately to the concerns of the Jewish community when it comes to the prosecution of a myriad of alleged offences and we now have an admission from the Metropolitan Police that somehow the CPS have previously advised them not to prosecute,” Ellis said.
Neither the CPS nor the Metropolitan Police agreed to release a copy of the legal advice, and both declined to disclose the instruction that prompted the advice.
Pascal Robinson-Foster, a member of Bob Vylan, led the 'death to the IDF' chant on Sunday (Photo: X)[Missing Credit]
The JC understands that such requests can seek general guidance on potential criminal activity, though in many cases instruction relates to specific offences. Where advice is given on one possible offence under the Public Order Act but not another, it may reflect the way the original question was framed.
In a statement posted on X on Sunday, the Met said: “We are aware of chanting made by a speaker at the Al Quds protest and will be investigating.
“We recognise the concern footage and chanting like this causes, particularly with London’s Jewish communities.
“When this language has been used previously we sought advice from the CPS who determined that there would be insufficient evidence to take a case forward.”
The Met said 12 arrests were made on Sunday, as the Al Quds Day demonstration and a counter-protest took place.
Last week, the force secured approval from the Home Office for a month-long ban on the annual march organised by pro-Iranian regime charity, the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC).
Footage from the static protest, which was permitted, appeared to show some demonstrators chanting “Death to Israel” and “From the river to the sea”, while dozens of Iranian regime flags were waved among the crowd. Attendees at the anti-Israel rally carried images of Iran’s slain supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, alongside placards bearing messages such as, “choose the right side of history” and “stop the genocide, hands off Iran”.
One man was pictured holding a placard reading “Boom boom Tel Aviv,” while another held aloft an image of the Jewish actor Miriam Margolyes and an accompanying message claiming that Jewish people had been “changed by Hitler” and had “become Nazis”. This second placard referred to comments made by Margolyes herself in 2025 when she described Israel’s actions in Gaza as "wicked and wrong", stating, "I don't want us to be changed by Hitler, by the Holocaust, into nasty people.”
Another placard read: “We are fighting the Epstein class that either rapes little girls or bombs little girls.”
The rally, which in previous years has taken the form of a march, was this year restricted to a stationary protest after the Met warned there was a “significant risk of serious public disorder”.
It was the first time since 2012 that police banned a demonstration from parading through the capital and the first time in memory that the force has used the River Thames as a physical barrier between protesters and counter-protesters.
Speaking after the rally, Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the demonstrations went "fantastically well”, citing "the assertive use of powers, putting the protest group and the counter-protest group opposite sides of the river, restricting the times.”
Noting that “all sorts of contentious chants” had been heard at demonstrations since October, Rowley told LBC: "We absolutely understand how upsetting those feel to certain communities and everything that's in a legal grey area, we take to the CPS [and] we say ‘this was the context’.”
He continued: "We're going through that same process again for this one, where we'll be taking it to taking CPS and taking their advice. But this is really complex contextual stuff.”
Protesters hold up flags and an image of Iran's slain ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, at the static protest (Photo: Getty)AFP via Getty Images
Named after the Arabic word for “Jerusalem”, Al Quds Day was established in 1979 by Iran’s revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and is widely criticised as being a propaganda exercise for the brutal Iranian regime carried out under the guise of pro-Palestinian activism.
For more than a decade, critics have called for it to be banned in London, particularly after earlier demonstrations featured flags associated with Hezbollah before the group was fully proscribed in the UK, alongside placards calling for the destruction of Israel.
A CPS spokesperson said: “We aware of chants made at an Al Quds Day march in London which are currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police.
“We carefully consider each case referred to us for charging decision or early advice to see whether it can be taken to court.
“Some offences can be context specific and where the evidence is not sufficient, we will work with police to identify what more can be done to meet the threshold for charging.
“Hateful chanting or waving of offensive flags may constitute an offence and where behaviour goes beyond lawful protest we will not hesitate to prosecute.”
They added: "We are already working closely with police and communities to identify, charge and prosecute hate crimes and we will always look at ways we can do more.
“We stand ready to review any files presented to us in relation to any alleged criminal offence.”
