Far-right thugs shame Braverman at Cenotaph in violent clashes with police

Police clash with counter-protesters at war memorial and arrest 92 as mayor says disorder ‘a direct result of home secretary’s words’ – and 300,000 march peacefully in Gaza rally

Rishi Sunak is facing massive pressure to sack Suella Braverman after her “hate” jibe at pro-Palestinian demonstrators blew up in her face.

The mass rally of around 300,000 people in London passed off without a single arrest while more than 90 far-right thugs who turned up to confront them were detained by police after a series of violent clashes.

The home secretary has been accused of inciting the violence by claiming police were biased against right-wing protesters in their refusal to ban the pro-Palestine march.

The contrast between the behaviour of the two groups has led to fresh calls for Ms Braverman to be sacked – or resign – and leaves her credibility as home secretary in tatters.

The prime minister, who has so far maintained confidence in her, must now decide whether to dismiss her, and face a full-scale revolt from her right-wing Tory MP supporters – or keep her and be seen as weak.

Counter-protesters clash with police in Parliament Square in central London, (PA)

It came as:

• The Metropolitan Police confirmed it had arrested more than 90 far-right activists as 2,000 counter-protesters led by English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson descended on London
• Over 300,000 people marched to demand a ceasefire in Gaza without serious incident
• Far-right protesters barged past police while throwing missiles as they stormed a Remembrance event at the Cenotaph
• Police hunt protesters shouting antisemitic chants and two people wearing Hamas headbands. A break away group of 150 pro-Palestinians were detained by police after the protest on suspicion of using fireworks
• Rishi Sunak condemned the “violent, wholly unacceptable scenes” from right-wing groups and “Hamas sympathisers” at the pro-Palestine march
• Cabinet minister Michael Gove was jeered by protesters as he arrived at Victoria station

One senior Tory MP called for Ms Braverman to apologise and quit, telling The Independent that Saturday’s violence was “entirely predictable” and said far-right activists’ skirmishes with police were “entirely her fault”.

“The march was never going past the Cenotaph in the first place and her dangerous rhetoric has invited a group of so-called ‘counter-protesters’ who are no more than far-right thugs who have no place on our streets,” the MP said.

Lord Heseltine said far-right protesters attacking the police in London proved that Ms Braverman’s comments were “particularly inappropriate”.

The Tory grandee told The Independent: “The people she seemed to be trying to put to blame, the pro-Palestinian protesters, have behaved well.

“And the far-right and EDL [English Defence League] have proved they were the real trouble-makers and the police dealt with them appropriately.”

Backbench Tory MP Elliot Colburn said there had been “a lot of anger on all sides”, but appeared to criticise Ms Braverman, telling The Independent: “Some people are taking advantage by stirring it up.”

“We need to find a way forward as a country to call for calm and take the heat out of this,” he added.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said clashes between the police and far-right thugs were “a direct result of Ms Braverman’s words”, while shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper appeared to make a veiled swipe at her Tory counterpart for inflaming tensions.

She said: “It is the responsibility of all of us to bring people together over this weekend, not divide and inflame.”

In a statement on Saturday night, Mr Sunak condemned the “despicable actions” of those behind Saturday’s violence and said he would be meeting Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in the coming days.

He said: “What we have seen today does not defend the honour of our armed forces, but utterly disrespects them.

“That is true for EDL thugs attacking police officers and trespassing on the Cenotaph, and it is true for those singing antisemitic chants and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing on today’s protest. The fear and intimidation the Jewish community have experienced over the weekend is deplorable.

“All criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law. That is what I told the Met Police Commissioner on Wednesday, that is what they are accountable for and that is what I expect.”

Labour shadow minister Jess Phillips earlier accused Mr Sunak of “standing by” while police were attacked by “thugs who followed the whistle of his home secretary” and Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf called on Ms Braverman to resign, saying her position was “untenable” after the clashes broke out.

“She attacked the police, she said they were biased, she made us and our police less safe,” Ms Phillips said.

“The far-right has been emboldened by the home secretary. She has spent her week fanning the flames of division. They are now attacking the police on Armistice Day,” Mr Yousaf said.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who has family in Gaza, laid the blame for any trouble caused by counter-protesters at the prime minister’s door.

She tweeted: “As the police in central London work to contain the far-right, and everyone starts to blame Suella Braverman, just remember who chose to not only give her the job but also chose not to sack her.

“Rishi Sunak is as, if not more, responsible for what happens today”.

Police clash with far-right protesters in Whitehall (PA)

Anti-racist campaign group Hope Not Hate said far-right agitators had been “fuelled by the extreme rhetoric of the home secretary”.

Chief executive Nick Lowles said: “These protests do not exist in a vacuum. We’ve seen the far-right growing in numbers and confidence, aided by the radical right fringes of this government.”

And Alastair Campbell accused the Conservatives of “deliberately putting a match to cultural tinder”.

Around 300,00 people took part in the Pro-Palestine march that passed without incident (Reuters)

The former Downing Street comms chief said: “The police would have been able to control the pro-Palestine march which was going nowhere near the Cenotaph.

“Braverman poured on petrol with her nonsense about police bias and now what should be a weekend of remembrance is becoming a ghastly source of division and possible violence.”

Far-right counter protesters were caught in skirmishes with police before the two minutes’ silence at the Cenotaph.

Crowds of men were chanting and seen climbing on bollards with pockets of disorder breaking out. However, at 11am, the two-minutes’ silence was observed.

Tommy Robinson was among the crowds gathered on Whitehall after he issued a rallying cry to his supporters to turn out to “defend” the Cenotaph. He was later seen leading protesters through Chinatown where the first of the arrests happened.

The 300,000 pro-Palestine marchers were calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict that erupted when Hamas attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people.

Ms Braverman has come under fire for her criticism of police in an incendiary article in The Times on Wednesday in which she accused the police of bias for failing to ban the protest.

Pro-Palestine marchers in London (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

In the article, Ms Braverman compared “pro-Palestinian mobs” to marchers in Northern Ireland and claimed the protesters are “largely ignored” by officers “even when clearly breaking the law”.

But Mr Sunak has so far resisted calls to sack her as home secretary, while MPs on the right of the party are threatening to revolt if action is taken against her.