Palestine Action protest latest: 442 arrested as demonstrators defy calls to cancel

Crowds began to disperse as it appeared police had arrested the final people showing support for Palestine Action.

A few dozen remained in Trafalgar Square and waved Palestine flags while H.O.O.D by Kneecap was played on a speaker.

Police have imposed Public Order Act conditions on a separate protest group which gathered in Whitehall.

Met Police explained earlier that there was a separate protest group which gathered in Whitehall, blocking the road before trying to march first towards Trafalgar Square, then Parliament Square.

The Public Order Act gives police the power to respond to protests and put restrictions in place. And in this case it means protesters have been told to leave the road.

The Met police said in a post on X that they have been ordered to assemble in Richmond Terrace.

The chairwoman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents police staff claimed officers policing another protest are “emotionally and physically exhausted”.

Paula Dodds said Met police officers should be “keeping people safe at a time when the country is on heightened alert from a terrorist attack,” Sky News reported.

But she claimed officers are having days off cancelled, are working longer shifts or are being moved from other areas to facilitate protests.

Officers from the Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) have assisted in arresting some of the last few protesters.

The officers, in bottle green uniform, were heckled by one woman who shouted “shame on you, don’t you know your history?” as they helped carry a man who had been arrested in Trafalgar Square away from crowds.

There are just a few people left in Trafalgar Square holding signs supporting Palestine Action, as larger crowds watch on.

Police have now arrest 442 people for supporting Palestine Action at today’s demonstration in Trafalgar Square.

In a post on X Metropolitan Police added: “A different protest group gathered in Whitehall, blocking the road before trying to march first towards Trafalgar Square, then Parliament Square. Officers have intervened.”