The Metropolitan Police said 20 arrests had been made by 3.53pm on Saturday, 10 October, during a Palestine Coalition protest in central London. The figure was given as a running total during the day, rather than as a final account of the operation.
Police said six of the arrests were for alleged criminal damage after people climbed on to the Battle of Britain memorial. The force did not name those arrested or set out whether any of the allegations would lead to a charge. An arrest records police action and an allegation; it is not a finding that an offence has been proved.
Seven arrests were recorded for alleged breaches of conditions imposed on the event. Police said two of those people were also arrested after refusing to remove face coverings when asked. The conditions and the face-covering power had been announced before the protest under public-order legislation.
The force also listed two arrests over placards said to support Palestine Action, a proscribed organisation. Two more arrests were listed for a Section 5 public-order offence. Police said one of those was racially aggravated and followed an allegation that a woman had made a Nazi salute earlier in the day.
Its update listed one arrest for alleged assault on police while officers were making arrests on Victoria Embankment, and one for breach of the peace. The remaining arrest concerned alleged threats to kill in relation to an incident on 1 October. The police update included that arrest in its total, but did not say that the alleged incident itself happened during the 10 October protest.
Police figure was an update during the day
The categories listed by the force add up to 20. They describe the reasons given for the arrests at the time of the update, not criminal convictions. The update did not give the identities or ages of those arrested, whether anyone had been charged, or the outcome of any subsequent investigation or court case.
The protest had been due to form on the Embankment at noon. Before it began, police imposed conditions requiring the procession to use Victoria Embankment, Westminster Bridge, York Road, Waterloo Bridge, the Strand and Whitehall. Participants were also required to remain in specified areas before the procession and at the assembly.
Under the conditions, music and speeches at the Whitehall assembly were required to finish by 5.30pm and the assembly by 6.30pm. The force had forecast between 7,000 and 10,000 people for planning purposes before the event. That forecast was not a confirmed attendance figure and is not an estimate of the number who ultimately took part.
Police had also authorised powers allowing officers to require the removal of a face covering where they reasonably believed it was worn wholly or mainly to conceal identity. The prior notice said that an officer was required to assess the individual circumstances. It did not say that wearing a face covering by itself would automatically result in arrest.
Separate restrictions were set for another assembly
Separate conditions had been imposed for a Stop The Hate assembly outside New Scotland Yard. Those conditions required participants to remain in a designated area and said the assembly had to conclude by 2.30pm. The arrest update did not provide a separate arrest total for that assembly.
Police imposed the conditions to limit serious disruption to communities while allowing the planned events to take place. The force’s later figure records allegations and arrests during the operation. It should not be read as a final judicial assessment of the people involved, or as evidence that any individual committed an offence.
