Met sets out public order conditions ahead of events this weekend

The PSC will hold their 18th protest since October 2023. There have been regular and significant numbers of protestors on the streets of London and this has had a cumulative impact on our communities. Each event requires substantial amount of planning in the context of various events being held across the capital.

The Met's goal has been to protect the lawful right to protest while minimising the impact of these events.

Ahead of this weekend, as with the previous 17, there has been significant negotiation and engagement with event organisers, as well as with those who will be impacted, including faith communities and local businesses.

This Saturday presents a unique picture, with two pre-existing annual events taking place in Trafalgar and Parliament Square which are likely to draw more than 20,000 people to the area. Concerns have also been raised by businesses across central London, faith communities and transport partners.

As such, conditions have been placed on the protest including on the routes of marches, locations of assemblies and start time.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: "We understand the strength of feeling around conditions on protests and always work hard to strike the balance between minimising the disruption to the public, businesses and community groups with the right to peacefully protest.

"We have worked with the PSC for weeks to agree plans and made efforts to explain the number of challenges which form part of this decision-making process. We have negotiated with them around a number of proposed conditions and made several alternative offers.

"We fully appreciate the scale of the demonstrations, with participants attending from across the country, and recognise that a delay in start time may inconvenience people. However, these changes are necessary to balance the wider impact to those who live, work and visit London."

Conditions 

On Saturday 7, September 2024, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign are undertaking a procession starting in Regents Street St James and finishing in Kensington Road, where a rally with speeches will take place.

The Public Order Act gives police the power to impose conditions on a procession or assembly of two or more people who are deemed to have a common purpose. 

The following conditions will be in place relating to the PSC event: 

Conditions on the pre-procession 'form-up' assembly:

• The Palestine Solidarity Campaign assembly in preparation for the organised procession must be held within the shaded area of the attached map [map A] (Regent Street St James) and assembly participants must remain within that area.
• The assembly must not commence until 12.30 hours and participants must not attend the prescribed assembly area (the shaded area of the attached map [map A]) before that time.
• Assembly participants must remain within the shaded area of the attached map [map A] until such time that the procession commences, which must not be before 14.30 hours, in accordance with the 'Procession' conditions imposed.
  

Conditions on the procession:

• The Palestine Solidarity Campaign procession must not commence before 14:30 hours.
• Procession participants must not commence proceeding along the prescribed route until 14.30 hours.
• Procession participants must not deviate from the prescribed route specified on the attached map [map B].

Conditions on post-procession assembly:

• Any person participating in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign post-procession assembly must remain within the shaded area on the attached map [map 1].
• The assembly must conclude by 18:00 hours or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the speeches, whichever is earlier.
• Any person participating in the Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Saturday, 7 September 2024 must not enter the area shaded in red on the attached map [map 2].