A pro-Palestinian march planned for Armistice Weekend “must go ahead”, Winston Churchill’s grandson has told LBC.
The Met Police has come under pressure to cancel planned demonstrations in London at the weekend, including from the prime minister Rishi Sunak and the home secretary Suella Braverman.
Sunak labelled plans for an Armistice Day protest as “provocative and disrespectful” and said there was a “clear and present risk that the Cenotaph and other war memorials could be desecrated”.
Meanwhile, the Braverman called it “entirely unacceptable to desecrate Armistice Day with a hate march through London”.
But Sir Mark Rowley says there is “no absolute power” to ban protest, suggesting it will go ahead.
Speaking to LBC, Lord Soames also pointed out that “a lot of people died during the war to assert freedom”.
“And because you may not agree or disagree with their views and because it is very contentious and very difficult, it’s going to put tremendous strain on the police, I think it must be allowed to go ahead,” he told LBC’s Andrew Marr.
“It’s nowhere near the Cenotaph. It’s in the afternoon and most of these people, 90 per cent of those people are not there to make trouble.
“They’re there to express a deeply held view. And I think it must be allowed to go ahead and I think it would be a great mistake to play politics with it.”
Asked whether he agrees with the Home Secretary’s remarks that some pro-Palestinian marches are ‘hate marches’, the former armed forces minister replied: “They are not hate marches.
“There are some people who attach themselves, as you know, to every demonstration and that is my one fear about Saturday – but the police will handle that.
“The previous demonstrations have been pretty good really. I mean, there’s been a few arrests and but for the scale of people.
“I think they are not hate marches and why would you say such a thing? I don’t get it… It is polarising and we live in a country which needs all the none polarisation it can get.”
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