POLICE testimony in the trial of two Palestine movement leaders has revealed a lack of communication and co-ordination among officers on the ground, a court heard today.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal and Stop the War vice-chair Chris Nineham are both charged with public order offences relating to a peaceful protest, on January 18 2025, against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

But Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard none of the officers at the two police cordons at the top of Whitehall were aware of the plan for a small delegation to ask permission to walk towards BBC headquarters. The intent was to lay flowers in memory of those killed in Gaza.

One officer, PC Isabel Vale, said some officers were enforcing an “absolute cordon” while others were allowing people through.

She did not know the first cordon had been withdrawn while the second had been “filtered” on the orders of senior officers.

Neither did she know that Whitehall was a predetermined exit point for protesters. 

This meant some demonstrators were being allowed to leave from there, while others were stopped from getting away, according to which officers they encountered.

The trial has been adjourned for seven days.