Met police move to stop protests clashing in central London
Public order conditions have been imposed
The Met police have taken steps to stop pro-Palestinian protests from taking place in the same area as a demo by the Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The CAA are gathering outside Downing Street to mark one week on from the deadly terror attack at a Manchester synagogue in which two people died.
The Metropolitan Police said plans by a number of pro-Palestinian groups to assemble in the same area at the same time poses a risk of "serious disorder".
In a statement the forc said:
Earlier today we became aware of plans by a number of pro-Palestinian groups to gather in Whitehall at the time of the CAA protest.
While there is no indication that they are doing so to directly counter the CAA, it is our judgement that the coming together of large groups with opposing views in the same location poses a risk of serious disorder and/or serious disruption.
We have a responsibility to take steps to prevent either of those outcomes and we have therefore imposed Public Order Act conditions preventing anyone taking part in the pro-Palestinian protests from assembling in a specific area around Whitehall.
Officers say they have also imposed a condition preventing them gathering in the area around Great Portland Street and Portland Place due to the proximity of a nearby synagogue.
Anyone breaching the conditions or encouraging others to do so can be arrested.
It comes as police are to be given greater powers to restrict protests by allowing them to consider the "cumulative impact" of repeated demonstrations.
The measures follow frequent pro-Palestinian demonstrations, including in London last Saturday, despite calls for restraint following the synagogue attack.
Almost 500 people were arrested, with the majority for supporting the banned terror organisation Palestine Action.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said repeated large-scale protests had caused "considerable fear" for the Jewish community.
The Government will amend Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to explicitly allow the police to take account of the cumulative impact of frequent protests on local areas to impose conditions on public processions and assemblies.
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