The officers, in their distinctive green uniform but without their side arms as carried in Northern Ireland, were loudly heckled with one woman shouting “Shame on you, don’t you know your history?”
belfastlive Administrator
16:20, 05 Oct 2025Updated 21:17, 05 Oct 2025
Police detain protestors in London on Saturday(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Officers from the PSNI were deployed in London over the weekend as almost 500 people were arrested over pro-Palestine protests in London
The demonstrations took place in defiance of calls by politicians and police bosses to reconsider after the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
The officers, in their distinctive green uniform but without their side arms as carried in Northern Ireland, were loudly heckled with one woman shouting “Shame on you, don’t you know your history?” as they helped carry a man who had been arrested in Trafalgar Square away from crowds.
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Two elderly men were also seen being carried by each limb to the south-west side of the square, where officers and police vehicles waited to process the arrests.
Commenting on images of PSNI officers arresting Palestinian protesters in London, Sinn Féin Policing spokesperson Gerry Kelly said: “Highlighting the ongoing devastation in Gaza is not a crime. The real crime is Israel’s policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide, aided and abetted by the US and Britain.
“Now we are witnessing the PSNI having being sent to London arresting protestors, alongside MET police, at a time when the Chief Constable has said publicly that police numbers are at their lowest in the history of the PSNI and they are not able to service the needs for all of society in the north.
“How does any of this improve confidence in the police here.”
The Metropolitan Police, backed by scores of units from across the UK as part of the mutual assistance policing scheme, arrested protesters for offences including supporting the banned terror group Palestine Action. The arrests include six people who were detained for unfurling a banner backing the proscribed group on Westminster Bridge.
Police officers detain a demonstrator in Trafalgar Square(Image: Getty Images)
But the bulk of the arrests occurred in Trafalgar Square, where protesters held placards showing their support for Palestine Action.
The Metropolitan Police said: “The final arrest total for today’s public order policing operation in central London is 492.”
The force said 488 arrests were for supporting a proscribed organisation, the remainder were for being drunk and disorderly, common assault, a public order offence and being wanted for an unrelated matter.
The Met said the youngest person arrested was 18, the oldest was 89. As of Saturday night, some 297 were in custody, the rest had been bailed.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews has called for the more than 400 people arrested under the Terrorism Act to also be investigated for stirring up racial hatred.
In a statement on X, the group added: “The crass insensitivity shown by the protesters, more than 400 of whom were arrested for supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation, is an affront to public decency.”
Organisers Defend Our Juries said more than a thousand people had gathered at the central London landmark to hold a mass, silent vigil protesting the proscription while the names of Palestinian children killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict are read out.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had urged protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews”, while Jewish figures have called the action “phenomenally tone deaf” following Thursday’s killing of two people in the terror attack.
Police take a protestor into custody as people stage a demonstration to demand the British government to lift its ban on Palestine Action group in London(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
A vicar, who had been sitting with her eyes closed and holding a poster saying “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”, was among those arrested and carried out by police.
Some people in the crowd called police “shameful” and one said to officers “thanks for protecting us” as the woman was taken away.
Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust charity which provides protection for the Jewish community, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it’s phenomenally tone deaf, to say the least, for so many people who claim to care about human rights and care about freedoms, to be taking police resources away from protecting the rights and freedoms of Jewish people to live their lives and go to synagogue in safety, all to support a proscribed terrorist organisation, which is not the same thing as supporting the Palestinians.
“And I think it’s remarkably self-absorbed and insensitive, to say the least.”
But Kerry Moscogiuri, director of campaigns at human rights group Amnesty International UK, said: “Arresting hundreds of people for peacefully sitting down and holding these signs is not the job of police.
“These arrests are in breach of the UK’s international human rights obligations and should not be happening.”
The Met had urged the group to call off its plans, with Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley saying: “By deliberately choosing to encourage mass law-breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.”
Police take a protestor into custody (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Policing minister Sarah Jones said many of those attending the event “want to be arrested, that is their aim”.
She said: “We believe in people’s rights to protest. This protest here in London is a different order of event because people are supporting a proscribed organisation and the police have to step in in that case.”
A similar event held by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine also took place on Saturday.
After a crowd of about 100 pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Manchester Cathedral to listen to speeches, they moved off en masse to march through the city centre.
(Image: Getty Images)
As they banged drums and chanted “Free Palestine!”, a group of counter-protesters got ahead of them, marching in front and holding a flag saying “F*** Hamas” and shouting “release the hostages”.
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Sir Stephen Watson urged would-be attendees at the protest to “consider whether this is really the right time”.
Police forces have deployed extra officers to synagogues and other Jewish buildings to offer protection and reassurance in the aftermath of the attack.
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