Police arrest 12 as hundreds join banned pro-Palestinian march in London

Hundreds of people turned out in London on Sunday for a pro-Palestinian march banned by the government after police said it was organised by a group “supportive of the Iranian regime”.Police said in a statement they had arrested 12 people and were investigating anti-Israeli chants allegedly made at the rally.Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said earlier this week she had agreed to the ban to “prevent serious public disorder” in the context of the continuing conflict in the Middle East, where Iran has launched strikes in retaliation against a US-Israeli offensive.It was the first time a protest march in the British capital was banned since 2012 but a static demonstration was permitted, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.Police kept apart demonstrators and counterprotesters by allowing them to gather on opposite sides of the River Thames, not far from Parliament.Pro-Palestinian protesters who were directed to the south side of the river waved flags and held up placards with slogans such as “Stop Israeli war crimes”, in a reference to Israel’s offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks.