Pro-Palestine marches have cost taxpayers £25million as MPs warn an “unsustainable burden” is being placed on the Metropolitan Police.
MPs concluded protests concerning Israel’s response to Hamas' October 7 terror attacks have seriously disrupted Scotland Yard’s ability to fight crime.
Protesters across the capital have swallowed up 26,121 Metropolitan Police officer shifts so far.
The Home Affairs Committee heard about the prevalence of hate crimes at the pro-Palestine marches.
Protesters across the capital have swallowed up 26,121 Metropolitan Police officer shifts so far
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An officer told the cross-party committee: “On every occasion so far we have found offences of hate crime, supporting a proscribed organisation and people looking to intimidate.
“They are very small numbers but they exist nonetheless.”
Demonstrations have also resulted in 4,000 rest days being cancelled in just three months.
Scotland Yard was forced to axe the rest days to ensure capacity to patrol the marches.
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The Metropolitan Police has had to deal with Palestine protests since October
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The Metropolitan Police had spent £18.9million policing the protests by December, with the cost outside the capital standing at £6.5million.
MPs said in the Policing of Protests report: “With many officers regularly being deployed from outside the Met, and should these protests continue indefinitely, it stands to reason that forces across the country will be less able to carry out everyday neighbourhood and response policing that is so vital to the public.”
Dame Diana Johnson, chairwoman of the Home Affairs Committee, argued the right to protest remained a vital part of the democratic process and must be protected but warned that growing demands on police resources were “unsustainable without proper reinforcement”.
She added: “It is vital that the right framework is in place to ensure that protests can continue without the burden on policing becoming intolerable and without regularly taking resources away from communities that have their own local crime-fighting challenges.”
The 52-page report also addressed the surge in hate crime since October 7.
Pro-Palestine protesters have taken to the streets of London in the last few months PAThe Community Security Trust, a charity set up to protect British Jews, reported 2,093 antisemitic hate crimes October 7 and December 13 last year.
The figure constitutes a five-fold rise in cases compared to the same period in 2022.
However, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said the report “fails to address the increasingly urgent need to restore the confidence of the British public and ensure the safety of this country’s Jewish community”.
A spokesperson added: “After months of intimidatory marches, this report offers no concrete recommendations for the here and now, just a long-term policy discussion about workforce planning and new laws that will take years to agree.
“Millions of pounds are being diverted from fighting crime into policing these relentless marches. The Jewish community is in fear and our city centres remain no-go zones during the protests. We need action urgently.”
