Police 'powerless' as pro-Palestinian activist climbs on to London war memorial

16 November 2023 , 06:37

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The pro-Palestinian protestor at the top of the war monument in London (Image: @MrAndyNgo/X)

Police were powerless to arrest a pro-Palestinian protestor who climbed to the top of a London war memorial, being cheered on.

Last night, a man climbed to the top of the Royal Artillery Memorial, at Hyde Park Corner, in London. Videos of the incident were shared across social media. He can be seen standing proudly atop the war time monument, waving a Palestinian flag as he’s cheered on by a "breakaway group".

Meanwhile, a number of Metropolitan Police officers and a larger group of pro-Palestinian protestors stand at the bottom of the monument. As he climbs down his fellow protestors warn he might "be arrested" as another says to "cover your face" as he’s filmed - seemingly acknowledging that they think he's done something that could break a law or get him in trouble.

But police don’t arrest the man, and let him climb down and run off with his fellow protestors. Last night the Met explained that they hadn’t got to the scene early enough to prevent him climbing up, and were powerless to arrest the man, or drag him down off the monument, due to their not being any relevant laws.

They said: “Most people would agree that to climb on or otherwise disrespect a war memorial is unacceptable. That is why our officers have made every effort to prevent it happening in recent days.

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“This evening, a breakaway group of pro-Palestinian protestors were dispersed at Hyde Park Corner and a number of them climbed on the Royal Artillery Memorial. While officers were on scene quickly, we regret they were not there quickly enough to prevent the protestors accessing the memorial.

“We know some online have asked why the protestors were not arrested. There is no law explicitly making it illegal to climb on a memorial so officers cannot automatically arrest, but they can intervene and make it clear the behaviour isn't acceptable. The videos shared online show them doing that.”

Many were left shocked by the incident which came not long after Remembrance Sunday. Last week, the Met were able to set up an exclusion zone around the Cenotaph given prior notice or disruptions from far-right groups there.

Kieren Williams