LONDON

UK police have warned demonstrators that expressing support for Palestine Action or chanting "intifada" slogans at a protest in London on Sunday could result in their arrests.

The Metropolitan Police Service said on Friday that marches linked to Al Quds Day protests and counter-protests have been banned throughout London after receiving consent from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Instead, demonstrators will be restricted to a two-hour static protest on the south bank of the River Thames.

International Al-Quds Day, proposed by Iran’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini after the 1979 revolution, is held each year on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

Counter-protests are also expected to take place on the north bank of the river and will also be subject to the same conditions.

Police said marches for both groups had been prohibited as part of a limited measure lasting one month.

“This is a limited and specific ban; it will apply to Al Quds Day protests and those countering. This ban will be in place for one month,” it said.

The Metropolitan Police said the decision was made due to concerns about potential clashes between opposing groups.

“The Met’s assessment is that a static protest will be easier to police and prevent the two sides from coming together. While this reduces the risk, we cannot completely rule it out.”

Officers said anyone who attempts to march or encourages others to march will face arrest.

Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, the force's public order officer, said in a statement that the decision was not made lightly. "We did not take the decision to ban the marches lightly, this is a unique set of circumstances and it was our assessment that the risk of public disorder was so severe, we did not have any other choice."

“I want to be clear this decision does not set a precedent. We haven’t used this power since 2012 and we will continue to consider each and every protest on a case-by-case basis. As we have seen, we can manage these through the use of conditions to keep people safe. That wasn’t the case with the Al Quds march and counter-march," she added.

Police said officers on the ground will be briefed on placards, flags, and chanting that could cross the line into hate crime or support for a proscribed organization.

"I am satisfied doing so is necessary to prevent serious public disorder, due to the scale of the protest and multiple counter-protests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East," Shabana Mahmood earlier wrote on US social media company X.

She noted that her decision came following the Metropolitan Police’s request to ban the Al Quds march.

"I expect to see the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division instead of exercising their right to peaceful protest," added the home secretary.