A protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for this Saturday must now follow an entirely new route after officers intervened using powers under the Public Order Act to prevent serious disruption.
Conditions:
- Anyone participating in the PSC demonstration must form up in Russell Square, not any previously advertised location.
- The demonstration must set off at 13:00hrs.
- It must stick to a route that goes from Russell Square, via Kingsway, Aldwych and the Strand, ending in Whitehall.
- The demonstration must end, with participants dispersed, by 16:30hrs.
- Anybody participating in the PSC demonstration must not enter the conditioned area around Portland Place at any time on Saturday, 18 January.
The formal wording of all conditions now in place is set out below this press release with maps provided.
Commander Adam Slonecki, who is leading the policing operation this weekend, said: “We have approached these discussions in good faith, meeting regularly with the PSC and with partners and community representatives.
“Our role is not to take sides. We police without fear or favour and we have taken the decisions we have motivated only by the need to ensure groups can exercise their right to peaceful protest, while also ensuring the wider community can go about their lives without serious disruption.
“I know some reporting has suggested that this is a ban on protests outside the BBC in general. This is absolutely not the case. We recognise why the PSC want to protest at the BBC and we’ve offered to work with them in considering alternative days of the week to do so, where we could be confident that they wouldn’t cause serious disruption to the lives of those attending the synagogue.
“We are also aware of some more recent commentary suggesting that reversing the route should be acceptable because the morning service at the synagogue would have finished. The synagogue is in use throughout the day and such a position doesn’t take into account other services and gatherings. The onus should not be on others to change their behaviour, such as leaving by a specific time, in order to accommodate the needs of protest groups.
“We will have a significant policing presence in the area around Portland Place to ensure the conditions we have set out are not breached and serious disruption is avoided.
“I would appeal to anyone intending to join this protest to avoid that scenario by heading to Russell Square and following the route we have set out. There are groups that are not formally part of the organising coalition who will be planning to announce gathering points with the intention of joining the main demonstration and we’d encourage them to now opt for Russell Square or locations very close by.
“I would also appeal to those with influence, including protest organisers or those who lead other campaign groups or blocs, to ensure that any previous plans are not being promoted and to make every effort to ensure those attending are aware of the conditions now in place.
“Anyone breaching the conditions, or inciting others to do so, is committing an offence. The consequences for doing so include arrest. We don’t want to have to arrest people but we have the resources to do so, including at scale, if we need to.”
