Limiting Gaza protests ‘risks terror attacks,’ warns former UK police chief

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - LONDON: Limiting or banning pro-Palestine protests in the UK will increase the likelihood of terror attacks in the country, a former police chief has said.

The former head of the UK’s anti-terror police network, Neil Basu, warned that any move to prevent people from voicing their opinions on the Israel-Hamas war would “fuel more extremism,” The Times reported.

Basu added that protesters on the fringes of the Palestine supporter movement would “look somewhere else” to voice their anger.

His comments come amid a growing divide in responses to the large-scale protest marches across the UK, which have taken place fortnightly since the outbreak of violence in Gaza in October last year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, speaking outside Downing Street on Friday, said that the demonstrations have “descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.”

He added: “On too many occasions recently, our streets have been hijacked by small groups who are hostile to our values and have no respect for our democratic traditions.”

Home Secretary James Cleverly earlier this week urged pro-Palestine demonstrators to end their marches because they had “made their point” and were unduly consuming police resources.

However, Basu hit back against calls to prohibit the marches, arguing that they served as a “vent” for people “who are vulnerable to extremist messages.”

He said: “I don’t think they’re mob rule. It would be dangerous to describe them in such provocative language that is designed to have them stopped.”

Politicians and policing figures have also warned of a growing risk to MPs, after several claimed they had been “intimidated” by protesters.

On Friday, about 30 demonstrators gathered outside the residence of the Israeli ambassador to the UK in North London, demanding her arrest over alleged support for war crimes.

Matt Twist, a senior public order officer with London’s Met Police, claimed that the force would be “quick in its response” to people attempting to intimidate MPs.

He added: “Of course, we’re worried about MP’s security. Anyone watching social media would see the number of threats that MPs get, which is utterly horrid and unacceptable.”

Further controversy erupted in the capital on Saturday after a 71-year-old “legal observer” was revealed to have been knocked to the ground by a group of police officers during a Gaza ceasefire protest in early January.

Lesley Wertheimer was seen wearing a high-visibility jacket in a newly released video of the incident, seen by The Guardian.

The pensioner and beekeeper, who has monitored the policing of protests since 1990, fell flat on the ground after being knocked over by a column of advancing police officers, the video shows.

She said: “No person should be charged, knocked over and harmed by the police and then have to rely on strangers helping them.

“Legal observers are there to do a piece of work as the police are there to do a piece of work. The police cannot target us. They have no right to try to intimidate us.”

Wertheimer said she had no memory of the aftermath of the incident, and believes that she lost consciousness as a result of the fall.

The 71-year-old was helped by nearby pedestrians and doctors who had attended the march, before limping to a nearby emergency department.

Two weeks ago, she submitted a complaint to the Met Police, which said it was investigating the incident.

Eva Roszykiewicz, Wertheimer’s solicitor, said it was “shocking” not only that “officers knocked into Lesley, causing her to fall over, but also that none of the other officers stopped to check on her.”

She added: “Whether you are a legal observer or a member of the public, that is scary.”