POLICE stormed a cafe and arrested activists before they had even begun marching today in the latest crackdown on the right to protest.
The Youth Demand activists were sipping their morning coffees in a branch of Leon in central London, ahead of a peaceful pro-Palestine demonstration planned by the group.
The activists were due to march towards Parliament, where the state opening was taking place, to urge the new government to suspend arms to Israel and halt all oil and gas licences granted since 2021.
Ten activists were arrested in the cafe for “conspiracy to commit public nuisance.”
“How is this more harmful than the people arming Israel?” one of the activists shouted as they were dragged away by police.
Shortly after, in Victoria Embankment, another group of activists were kettled in by police before the march commenced. Dozens more were arrested on the same charge.
Among those arrested was Violet Powell, a 23-year-old student.
She said: “Our leaders hide behind pomp and ceremony while a genocide is going on, and our new government are refusing to take action beyond making meaningless platitudes.
“Young people will not allow yet another government to continue ‘business as usual,’ when that business is killing countless people.”
She said that Labour has an opportunity to “stand for what is right” by stopping Britain from profiting from the deaths of children in Gaza, and reversing fossil fuel projects which are endangering hundreds of millions of lives around the world.
Although the King’s Speech failed to even directly mention a ceasefire, later that day Zarah Sultana, Labour MP for Coventry South, was due to table an amendment calling for the government to uphold international law and ban arms sales to Israel.
The amendment highlights that previous governments have suspended arms sales following Israeli attacks against Palestinians.
This includes Margaret Thatcher’s government in 1982, Tony Blair’s in 2002, and Gordon Brown’s in 2009.
It also makes four other calls: for an immediate ceasefire, for the release of all hostages; to restore funding for UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, and for Britain to drop its challenge to the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction in Gaza.
Up to four amendments will be selected for a vote on the final two days of debate, which are expected to be next Tuesday and Wednesday.
At an online event attended by over 500 people on Tuesday – and viewed by hundreds more on social media since – a new petition was launched entitled ‘The new UK government should impose an embargo on arms sales to Israel.’
At the event, Andy McDonald MP said: “The Conservative government continued to licence arms sales to Israel and refused the Labour opposition’s call to publish its legal advice on arms sales…we must have the announcement of a ceasefire and the end to all military action. Britain must use all levers necessary to achieve this, including the end of arms export licensing as a first step.”
The petition can be viewed here.
