Eight arrested at pro-Palestine rally as thousands gather in over 30C heat

Eight people have been arrested at a pro-Palestine rally in central London, as thousands gathered in over 30C heat.

In an updated statement, a spokesperson for Met Police said: “Today’s protest has now come to an end. In total there were eight arrests for offences.

“Officers remain in the area to ensure any further incidents can be dealt with.”

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters gathered in central London on Saturday calling for an end to Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

It comes as London saw its hottest day of the year so far, with a temperature of 33.2C recorded in the village of Charlwood, just northwest of Gatwick this afternoon.

Demonstrators waving Palestinian and Iranian flags marched from Russell Square towards Whitehall, chanting slogans including “Free, free Palestine”, “Occupation no more, Israel is a terrorist state” and “Stop bombing Iran”.

The march comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East, as Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any US involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran would be “very, very dangerous”.

US President Donald Trump reportedly approved plans to launch strikes on Iran earlier this week but held off in the hope Tehran would agree to scale back its nuclear programme. Blasts were heard in southwestern Iran on Saturday as the conflict entered its ninth day, with Israel claiming to have targeted “military infrastructure”.

In London, many demonstrators chanted “Shame on you” as they passed a small counter-protest organised by the pro-Israel group Stop the Hate near Waterloo Bridge.

Police have confirmed that a bottle was thrown at the Stop the Hate counter-protest, though it fell short and no one was injured. A suspect was chased down the Strand by officers and has been taken into custody.

Addressing crowds at the march, former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf said the Government was “abusing” anti-terror laws against pro-Palestine activists.

The former SNP leader said: “We gather here once more as the dogs of war once again try to sell us lies, this time about an imminent attack from Iran, just as they did when they lied to us about the weapons of mass destruction they told us Saddam Hussein had.

“So we stand here and we say to Keir Starmer today what we said to Tony Blair in 2003: ‘In our name, don’t you dare send our sons and daughters on a frivolous war for your political gain’.”

Mr Yousaf added: “While we stand a stone’s throw from Downing Street, let’s make it clear to the Prime Minister: You try to intimidate us with your anti-terror laws by abusing them, but you’ll never silence us as we speak out against the genocide that you’re supporting.

“We’re not the terrorists – the ones that are literally killing children, they are the terrorists.

“Let’s say clearly to Keir Starmer: ‘End your complicity, stop selling arms to Israel, stop supporting a genocide, sanction Israel, recognise the Palestinian state’.”

Speaking at the national march for Palestine, Paloma Faith told protesters that she would not “stick to music and stay away from politics”.

The singer said: “What has this world come to when we are so desensitised to death, to suffering, to violence live-streamed in the palm of our hands, that we carry on with our lives and our privileges and our dignity as human beings when others are living with none of those things.

“For the last 20 months, since Israel’s genocide in Gaza began, I’ve been sleeping with my children every night, holding them close, because nothing matters more to me than my children – just like nothing mattered more to Dr Alaa al-Najjar when she went to the hospital to save people’s lives, only to return home to discover that her husband and her nine children had been killed by Israeli air strikes.”

The songwriter, 43, added: “Those who facilitate these crimes against humanity need to be made accountable, not those of us who are compassionate and humane enough to stand against it.

“When people tell me that I should stick to music and stay away from politics, what do I say? I say that I can’t agree with the illegal genocide of a people who are mainly children.”

Meanwhile, a pro-Palestine protester has said it is “absolutely horrendous” that the Government is preparing to ban Palestine Action.

The Home Secretary is preparing to ban the group following its vandalism of two planes at an RAF base, it is understood.

If enacted, this would make it a criminal offence to belong to or support Palestine Action.

The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.

Artist Hannah Woodhouse, 61, said: “Most of us share that horror of actually being part of a genocide because our Government is not only arming the Israeli military, but we’re also providing surveillance and training the military in this country.“

The Government, since yesterday, have said they’re also going to start to try to proscribe peace activists who are trying to take action against the genocide – so Palestine Action are now being targeted by our government, which is absolutely horrendous.”

Speaking at the march for Palestine, Ms Woodhouse added: “Counter-terrorism measures, it seems, are being used against non-violent peace protesters.

“The peace activists are trying to do the Government’s job, which is to disarm Israel. The duty of any government right now is to disarm a genocidal state.”