Lee Anderson as part of his Islamophobic attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan claimed that hundreds of people had been arrested for racist abuse on the huge Palestine marches in London since October 2023.
These marches have been very heavily policed and the Met Police have imposed all kinds of restrictions meaning that getting arrested for inadvertently breaching one is a possibility.
Even so the numbers arrested, given the numbers attending are far less in proportion than might be found at a Premiership football game or outdoor music concert
The numbers actually arrested for racist abuse are 30* and these may well be far right racists in some cases. It appears to be the case that most of those arrested are eventually not charged.
Anderson possibly doesnt really know what he is getting himself into but its likely Farage and GBNews do, as does the far right of the Tory Party.
The figures below are from BBC Verified on 26th February
How many have been arrested at marches for racist abuse?
Suspended Conservative MP Lee Anderson has criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan over the policing of pro-Palestinian marches in the capital.
“Hundreds of people had been arrested for racist abuse on these marches and we barely hear a peep from the mayor,” Anderson said in a statement on Monday, in which he doubled down on his criticism of Khan.
According to the figures from Metropolitan Police, there were:
- 43 arrests in October
- 89 arrests in November
- 19 arrests in December
The figures include arrests of pro-Palestinian protestors as well as counter-protestors, but there is no breakdown for this.
Religious/racial abuse has been listed as the reason for arrest in a total of 30 cases:
- 11 in October
- 11 in November
- Eight in December
Other reasons for arrest include violent disorder, criminal damage, possession of a weapon or possession of drugs.
The data for January and February has not been fully released yet. However Met Police Boss Mark Rowley said at a briefing in early March that of 360 arrests so far, 90 were far right protesters (the Cenotaph mob inspired by Suella Braverman).
The Guardian (8th March) has an update
Claims of rampant criminality at the demonstrations, often attended by hundreds of thousands of people, also appear to be at odds with the facts on the ground. At the last pro-Palestine march in London there were just 12 arrests. This compares with 36 arrests at the Glastonbury music festival in 2023.
According to the Metropolitan police, of the 238 arrests made by police at pro-Palestine protests between October and December last year, only 35 have been charged, while three penalty notices and four cautions were also issued.
Jude Lanchin, a solicitor for Bindmans who has represented 23 people arrested at the protests, said that many of the cases were “questionable and not based on sufficient reasonable suspicion that an offence has actually been committed”.
“Out of 23 cases from October to date, only two of my clients have been charged,” she said. “A number have had the investigation dropped and others are subject to unreasonably long bail periods, although charges are unlikely to be brought. Other clients have been threatened with arrest when their actions clearly do not constitute a criminal offence.”
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