The Prime Minister was under mounting pressure to crack down on extremists groups stirring up hatred at pro-Palestinian marches.
Furious MPs accused the Government and police of sitting on their hands while demonstrators openly glorified terrorism. Calls for action came as a former Cabinet minister warned that some factions posed a “real security threat” to Britain.
MPs of all parties voiced concern as the latest march ended in violent clashes with police and cries of “Allahu Akbar” outside Downing Street. One officer was injured and taken to hospital as blows were aimed at colleagues who tried to detain a demonstrator.
Up to 100,000 people took to the streets of London for the third week running.
Leaflets were handed out hailing the “extraordinary heroism” of Hamas, the terrorist group which massacred 1,400 civilians in Israel barely three weeks ago. And marchers called for a civil uprising by chanting “from London to Gaza, we’ll have an intifada”. One demonstrator was carrying a swastika sign which was seized by police.
Meanwhile, the statue of First World War commander Field Marshal Douglas Haig was defaced with the words “God Save Gaza”.
MPs demanded tightening of the law if necessary to enable police to round up the ringleaders and “bang them up”. They also want extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir to be banned in Britain – as it has been in 13 other countries.
This group was blamed for calling for “jihad” at last week’s demo. Yesterday rallies were also held in Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast.
MPs had demanded action against people chanting “jihad” and “from the river to the sea”. But the later chant – which Home Secretary Suella Braver-man has suggested is anti-Semitic – was heard even before the march was underway.
Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “We need to start arresting the activists and ring leaders and they need to be banged up.
“People are amazed that this is happening in our country. I have spoken to police officers who are very frustrated.
“This is London, capital of the free world. We have never tolerated people who promote violence and never should.”
Meanwhile, a WeThink poll for the Sunday Express found 58 per cent of people think chanting for jihad on Britain’s streets should be illegal.
The march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, set off from Victoria Embank-ment at midday and finished at Parliament Square. Demonstrators let off flares and climbed on a statue of Lloyd George in Parliament Square. In violent scenes in Whitehall, punches and kicks were aimed at police who appeared to be detaining a demonstrator.
Cries of “Allahu akbar”, the Arabic phrase for “God is great” also rang out.
Counter demonstrations were also taking place, with dozens of people with Union flags standing close to the Cenotaph on Whitehall, drawing chants of “shame on you” from pro-Palestinian marchers.
Around 1,000 officers policed the event. There were two arrests. One man was detained on Whitehall after a police officer was assaulted, the Metropolitan Police said. The force said the officer was taken to hospital following the incident. Another man was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and making threats to kill.
As Israel stepped up its ground offensive in Gaza, experts warned the Middle East conflict poses a direct threat to Britain.
One former Cabinet Minister revealed they had urged the Government to increase the threat level in the UK, which is currently “substantial”. They said: “It is alarming that more isn’t being done to watch the associated Islamist groups known to spread hate and call for the creation of caliphates.
“There is a real security threat for our country. We have made our alliances pretty clear and we are a target.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was being kept abreast of developments in the conflict.
Former Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon warned: “We now have two terrible wars, one in the Middle East and the other on our own continent in Ukraine.
“Both threaten our security here in Britain. Each will have long-term consequences for our standard of living.”
Tory MP Louie French said: “There are major questions over whether these so-called protests should be allowed to continue, especially when they are used to spread hate and glorify terrorism in London”.
MP Michael Fabricant said the whole country would be at risk if it failed to fight hatred against Jews on London streets.
The Met insisted: “There is no place in London for hate crime. Officers will respond to any criminality where they see it, but there may be things not seen in the moment.
“We’ll also be reviewing CCTV and images and video shared by the public to identify offences.”
Dr Alan Mendoza, founder of think tank Henry Jackson Society, said: “The reality of Hizb ut-Tahrir is it should have been proscribed many years ago, given the sort of language it uses, its discord and its radicalising effect on young and impressionable Muslims. Its re-emergence during this conflict is deeply concerning.”
Labour MP Steve McCabe said: “Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in 13 countries, including in the Arab world, who regard them as a group of extremist fundamentalists.
“But for some reason we don’t seem to be able to make a decision on this.”
However, Neil Basu, former head of the Met Police Counter Terrorism Command, said that while he had been in the role from 2018 until 2021, the group had never met the criteria.
But he said current events could affect the “intelligence picture”. He said: “There is a very structured system for proscribing organisations and that system relies on intelligence, not on feelings.”
