Mahmood bans Al Quds Day march after Met allies with Israel lobby

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has banned the planned Al Quds Day march in London for Sunday 15 March. Mahmood no doubt needed little persuading, rendering the Metropolitan Police’s decision to side with the UK Israel lobby little more than a pretext.

Mahmood caves to Israel lobby

In a statement, the Met claimed that:

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… The threshold to ban a protest is high and we do not take this decision lightly; this is the first time we have used this power since 2012.

The Metropolitan Police routinely polices hundreds of protests which have counter protesters. Free speech and the right to protest are protected in law and we have a proven track record of upholding these values.

The Met appears to think opponents of genocide and imperialism have forgotten the traps it laid for an entirely peaceful anti-genocide march in January 2025. That entrapment, despite abundant footage of police inviting marchers through police lines, was used to charge and prosecute leading peace organisers. The state continues to insist peaceful demonstrators ‘forced’ their way through.

Organisers of the march, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, have strongly condemned the decision:

IHRC strongly condemns the desicion by the Metropolitan Police to ban the Al Quds Day March.

However, a static Al Quds Day protest will still go ahead.

We hope to see you on Sunday 15th March InshaAllah.

We are seeking legal advice and this decision will not go unchallenged.

And they made it clear that Shabana Mahmood has made a political decision:

If it was not clear already, the police have brazenly abandoned their sworn principle of policing without fear or favour, and have capitulated to the pressure of the Zionist lobby. The Metropolitan Police unashamedly regurgitate Zionist talking points about IHRC without a shred of evidence. They cannot present evidence because there is none – we are an independent NGO. In essence, this is a politically charged desicion; not one taken for the security of the people of London

What right to protest?

The force’s statement also invidiously linked the march to threats and terrorism – and to claim that Iran is “attacking British allies”, rather than retaliating after unprovoked attacks:

We must also consider that the security services have been publicly clear about the threats we are facing on UK soil from the Iranian regime. In the last year MI5 and Counter Terrorism Policing have foiled over 20 Iranian state-backed attacks on the UK. Last week counter-terrorism officers arrested four people under the National Security Act after they allegedly spied on Jewish communities for the Iranian regime and, separately, at the weekend a man was reportedly stabbed by someone who had opposing views on the Iranian regime.

No evidence has so far been provided to the public for any of these arrests or ‘foiled attacks’.

In typical Orwellian style, the Met then claimed that it protects the right to protest, while warning that those who protest this weekend will “crossover [sic] into criminality [and] will face the full force of the law” and that:

We urge the organisers to comply with our conditions or face arrest.

Right.

The UK regime is an enabler of rogue-state terrorism and is more than willing to subordinate the rights of its citizens to the interests of Israel and the US.

Featured image via the Canary