In a move to maintain public safety, the Metropolitan Police has announced that a planned Ukip march through the Tower Hamlets area of London will not be permitted. The decision comes after concerns were raised about the potential for serious violence and disorder, including from members of the local community.
The march, scheduled for 31 January, was intended to call for mass deportations. However, the police have stated that while the event is not outright banned, it will not be allowed to take place in Tower Hamlets, which has a significant Bangladeshi population and a history of resisting racist attacks, sometimes through violent means.
James Harman, the Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner, explained that public order laws allow the police to impose conditions on events if there is a risk of serious disorder. “It would be reckless to allow an event to go ahead when we understand there’s a risk of serious violence to members of the community and to our officers,” he said.
The decision has drawn some criticism, with Harman acknowledging that “some of the perceptions people may have or may choose to have” about the police’s actions. However, he maintained that the primary concern is the safety of the community and officers, and that the assessment of risk, including the potential reaction of the local population, was a key factor in the decision.
Harman emphasised that the march is not being outright banned, and that Ukip may still be able to hold their protest in an alternative location that does not pose the same risk of serious disorder and violence. However, anyone found to be part of the Ukip protest in Tower Hamlets will be arrested.
The move comes in the wake of a similar controversy in the West Midlands, where the police chief stepped down after a report criticised the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a football match in Birmingham due to fears of violence.
The Metropolitan Police has stated that the complexity and frequency of protests they have had to manage has increased, with the force spending £76 million on policing 884 protests over the past two years. The decision to restrict the Ukip march in Tower Hamlets is part of the ongoing challenge of balancing the right to protest with the need to maintain public order and safety.
