Cops to ring-fence Cenotaph and arrest pro-Palestinian crowds who gather nearby

Police are preparing for the biggest remembrance weekend security operation ever with hundreds of thousands of protesters expected to take to the streets on Saturday.

More than 2,000 officers from the Metropolitan Police and other UK forces will be on duty during a "really difficult weekend for policing", the force said. The plan covers both Armistice and remembrance events as well as a significant march by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

It comes after Home Secretary Suella Braverman criticised the Met over its decision to allow the pro-Palestine protests to go ahead. The force said on Friday that an exclusion zone will be set up around the Cenotaph meaning any pro-Palestinian protesters who try to assemble close to it would be arrested. It will deploy 1,850 public order officers on Saturday, and another 1,375 on Sunday.

The Cenotaph in Whitehall (Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said: "We know that the protest has caused significant concerns across many communities and it's because that protest is taking place on armistice day. That has generated significant public discussion and all of that discussion, the context around the protest, is what makes this a particularly challenging and tense weekend."

The police have set up exclusion zones covering the Cenotaph, Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade, the Westminster Abbey Field of Remembrance and other relevant areas.

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However, counter protesters will be allowed into the area around the Cenotaph, the Met said. Large numbers of counter protesters are expected in the capital in response to the decision to hold the march on Armistice Day.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police on duty beside the Cenotaph in London (PA)

An exclusion zone will be put in place covering Whitehall and the Cenotaph to prevent demonstrators on the march from entering the locations.

Speaking at a media briefing, deputy assistant commissioner Laurence Taylor said the Met had information that "large numbers of counter protesters will be coming to London with a view to confronting those taking place in the main march".

Asked why counter protesters would be allowed around the monument, Mr Taylor said the force "don't anticipate any disorder will come from that group" individually.

Mr Taylor said: "I've been a public order commander for ten years and this is probably one of the most challenging weekends I think I'm going to have in terms of the various tensions playing out. It's certainly one of the biggest we have had."

Asked why the force has doubled the number of officers on the ground compared to the first weekend of protests, Mr Taylor said: "We are aware there will be counter-protests, as well as a lot of people who would ordinarily come to London to mark their respect on Armistice Day on Remembrance Sunday. That means we need a large and robust policing plan in place."

Mr Taylor said there will be times over the weekend where "pockets of confrontation" will occur.

He said: "You will see police intervention and I hope we don't, but I think it's likely you will see police having to use force to manage some of the situations we have to deal with and at times that might look messy."

Pro-Palestinian protesters have agreed to avoid the Cenotaph and Whitehall and police will attempt to keep them separate from far-right demonstators. Specialist spotters will monitor social media, CCTV and drone footage to make real time assessments of any offences being committed.

Officers from the Met's mounted branch and marine unit will be deployed alongside search teams with dogs. Physical barriers are being erected to help separate protestors. Tommy Robinson, the founder of the now-defunct English Defence League, has called for "young English men" to stage counter protests in London this weekend. Mr Taylor said: "It's likely there will be some groups from both sides who will likely seek each other out later on in the day."

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