March organised by Iran-linked group banned after police request

The government has approved a request from the police to ban the Al Quds Day march in London on Sunday to prevent "serious public disorder" given the conflict in the Middle East, the home secretary has said.

The Metropolitan Police asked for the ban saying it was concerned about the high number of protesters and counter-protesters, adding the march organisers were "supportive of the Iranian regime" .

The Islamic Human Rights Commission, who organise the annual march, insist it is a peaceful, pro-Palestinian event. It says a static protest will take place instead.

It is the first time a protest march has been banned since 2012. The Met said it had not taken the decision lightly.

Faisal Bodi, of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said a ban would mean a "sad day for freedom of expression".

In a statement, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "I am satisfied doing so is necessary to prevent serious public disorder, due to the scale of the protest and multiple counter-protests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

"Should a stationary demonstration proceed, the police will be able to apply strict conditions. I expect to see the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division instead of exercising their right to peaceful protest."

Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, public order lead for the Met, said that the ban applied to the "Al Quds march and any associated counter-protest marches" and would be in place from 16:00 on Wednesday, to last one month.

"The Al Quds march is uniquely contentious having originated in Iran and in London is organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, an organisation supportive of the Iranian regime," he added.

Noting that the power to ban a march had not been used since 2012, Adelekan said the Met had "safely policed hundreds of protests from across the political spectrum including 32 major pro-Palestinian protests and many more both pro and anti the Iranian regime".

"But in our assessment this march raises unique risks and challenges," he continued.

"We must consider the likely high numbers of protesters and counter-protesters coming together and the extreme tensions between different factions. We have taken into consideration the likely impact on protests of the volatile situation in the Middle East, with the Iranian regime attacking British allies and military bases overseas."

Previous Al Quds marches had "resulted in arrests for supporting terrorist organisations and antisemitic hate crimes", the assistant commissioner said.

"However, the decision to ban it this year is purely based on a risk assessment of this specific protest and counter-protests – we do not police taste or decency or prefer one political view over another, but we will do everything we can to reduce violence and disorder," he added.

Outright ban 'extremely unusual'

A march can only be banned if police consider it would result in serious public disorder, and that placing restrictions on it would not prevent that disorder from taking place. The decision needs approval from the home secretary.

Neither the police or the home secretary can ban static demonstrations, although conditions can be placed on them.

Former Met Ch Supt Dal Babu, who sits on the London Policing Board which scrutinises the force, said it was a "very, very serious decision but it would have been based on police intelligence".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he added: "There are restrictions placed on marches and demonstrations, but an outright ban is extremely unusual.

"And I think we need to trust the police, trust their judgement."

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said the government is "very careful about these types of interventions because... so long as you're legal and peaceful you can protest on anything you like in this country."

"We have freedom of speech and that's something that we all care about," he told BBC Breakfast.

Al-Quds Day, named after the Arabic name for Jerusalem, is often held on the last Friday of Ramadan.

It was first held shortly after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Marches are held around the world, with the largest in Iran.

March organisers, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, describe it as an "international demonstration... in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world".

Calls for the march to be banned grew after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Speaking to Radio 4's The World Tonight programme before the ban was confirmed, Faisal Bodi said: "If it's true then it's a sad day for freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and the right of people to legitimately protest about issues they feel strongly about."

"This demonstration has taken place for the last 40 years peacefully," he said.

Asked if he would hold up a picture of the Iranian ayatollah, Bodi said: "Happily."

"I'd rather hold a picture of the ayatollah than Keir Starmer or Donald Trump. Well he was a man of principle, a man of integrity, a man who stood for justice."

Pressed on whether he was sympathetic to the Iranian regime, Bodi said: "No, I'm openly sympathetic to people who are on the right side of justice."

In January, during the Iranian regime's crackdown on anti-government protests, thousands are believed to have been killed.

Bodi said he'd hold a picture of the ayatollah "in the same way that I'd happily hold a picture of Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X and many other towering personalities".

The government's former independent adviser on political violence and disruption, Lord Walney, told the same programme he thought the request by the Met to ban the march was the "right decision".

Last year hundreds of demonstrators joined the Al Quds Day march through central London, while dozens took part in a counter-protest organised by pro-Israeli group Stop The Hate. Police officers separated the two groups.

One arrest was made in relation to an alleged offence under the Public Order Act, the force added.

During 2024's march, 10 people were arrested, the Met said at the time.