Building cases against 2,000 protesters arrested for supporting banned group Palestine Action is placing a “big burden” on counter terrorism officers, a chief has admitted.
Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, revealed the major toll of hundreds of arrests at repeated protests over the government’s decision to ban the direct-action group.
Almost 500 were hauled away by officers for holding placards declaring “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” at the most recent demonstration in Trafalgar Square earlier this month.
This brings the total facing likely charges under the Terrorism Act for defying the controversial ban, which is being challenged in the High Court, to around 2,000.
Facing questions at the London Assembly on Thursday, Sir Mark said: “We have now got about 2000 people most of them pending prosecution decisions by the Attorney General. Some of them are on their way towards it some of them we are still doing the files.
“Those files are not the most complex even though they are terrorism files. But 2000 is a lot of work.
“That’s a big burden for our Counter Terrorism team, it’s a big burden for public order team, it’s a big burden for the Crown Prosecution Service.
“And the courts are indicating multiple long trials next year, so I’m concerned that the justice system isn’t moving quickly enough to show that it’s taking this seriously.”
His comments come after 28 people pleaded not guilty to supporting the banned group at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
It is likely to be the first in a series of complex hearings relating to the demonstrations, as judges scramble to find courtrooms to hear hundreds of potential trials.
A total of 138 protesters have so far been charged for supporting the banned group at demonstrations in July, according to the CPS.
It is also possible trials could delayed until the High Court challenge over the group’s proscription concludes.
Sir Mark also told assembly members the force had faced an “escalating situation” for public order policing over recent years – with an “upward curve” in demonstrations starting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s kept rising,” he added. “That is a stretch for the organisation, and we are sharing the load more but it is a bigger load to carry.”
Policing protests and events in September alone cost the Met £19.7million, with 21,000 officer shifts required.
This takes officers away from their neighbourhood duties and could lead to slower response times and slower investigations into other types of crime, he said.
Shabana Mahmood earlier this month announced police would be given even greater powers to restrict repeated protests after the event in Trafalgar Square, which went ahead despite calls from the police and prime minister to postpone.
The home secretary said repeated large-scale protests had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community in the wake of the Manchester synagogue attack.
She said: “The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country. However, this freedom must be balanced with the freedom of their neighbours to live their lives without fear.
“Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to leave their homes.”
However, organisers Defend Our Juries responded by promising a “major escalation” in their campaign to lift the ban on Palestine Action ahead of the High Court legal challenge on 25 November.
A group spokesperson said it “beggars belief” that the home secretary responded to condemnation of the ban with a further crackdown.
“This confirms what we’ve warned all along: the proscription of Palestine Action was never just about one group – it’s a dangerous, authoritarian escalation that threatens everyone’s right to protest in our country,” they added.
