11 November 2023 , 14:33
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Two people have been arrested in Rochdale after a cenotaph was daubed with the phrase ‘Free Palestine’.
Two teenage males were detained on suspicion of causing racially aggravated criminal damage to the cenotaph - and were held in custody for questioning. The slogan was sprayed in red paint on the front of the cenotaph, close to the Rochdale police station in Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers are now stationed at the memorial which is being treated as a crime scene. GMP Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Round said: "The cenotaph means a lot to the community in Rochdale and the recent incidents have been deeply upsetting, particularly at a time when we should be honouring the memory of war veterans.
"I want to assure the public that Greater Manchester Police is taking the incident very seriously and we have been working with partners to carry out swift arrests. I hope the latest action reassures our communities and sends a message that criminal damage towards war memorials will not be tolerated." GMP have not given the names or ages of the suspects - nor have they confirmed if they were adults.
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Police cordoned off and guarded the crime scene (Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)Rochdale Borough Council announced it had "removed and replaced a number of damaged poppy wreaths" on X, formerly Twitter. It said the graffiti has been cleaned off, and added: "We are proud of our strong links with our armed forces community. Our war memorials and monuments are incredibly important and should be respected by everyone at all times."
The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens - who also designed the Whitehall cenotaph. The Central London monument is very near scenes of violent disorder by far-right protests in central London today (Saturday 11 November) who clashed with riot police - although the cause of these protestors is not quite clear. As of 2pm, the far-right group have been shepherded onto Westminster bridge by police.
A march in favour of a ceasefire amid the Israel-Hamas war is also underway, but the organisers pledged to steer clear of the cenotaph. The route starts in Hyde Park and ends at the US Embassy - defying the Met’s plea for protestors not to hold demonstrations on Armistice Day or Remembrance Sunday.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman is facing widespread calls for her to be sacked, as many accuse her of inciting the violence when she claimed the police are biased in their dealing with protests - and described the pro-Palestinian marches as “hate marches”.
Far-right protestors burst through police lines in LondonHumza Yousaf was scathing in his assessment of Braverman’s role in the violence, saying: “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. The Home Secretary's position is untenable. She must resign.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan added that the disorder was a “direct result of the Home Secretary's words”. He added: "The police's job has been made much harder. The Met have my full support to take action against anyone found spreading hate and breaking the law."
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said the attack on the Rochdale Cenotaph was "absolutely disgraceful" but said he would prefer it if pro-Palestine marches planned for this Saturday in London and elsewhere were not taking place. He also criticised the Home Secretary's approach.
He told BBC Radio Manchester: "This is Remembrance Weekend and I would want a situation where all of our attention is on that. That's an important weekend for many people in the country. I have never seen a Home Secretary who is actually ratcheting things up, inflaming situations rather than calming them. Her role should be to lower the temperature, diffuse the situation. In my view, she is doing the opposite."