The Metropolitan Police have blocked a planned demonstration by the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in Tower Hamlets this weekend, saying the event posed a clear risk of serious public disorder. The decision came under powers in the Public Order Act, and means UKIP cannot hold its protest in Whitechapel or anywhere else within the borough.
The march, billed as a protest against “Islamists,” had been scheduled to move through Whitechapel on Saturday. Tower Hamlets, which has the highest percentage of Muslim residents in the UK, has seen tensions rise in the run-up to the event. Local community groups raised concerns that the demonstration could spark clashes.
In a formal statement released on Tuesday, the Met said: “Concerns of serious disorder have prompted the Metropolitan Police to intervene and prevent a demonstration from taking place in Tower Hamlets this weekend. … Public Order Act conditions have now been imposed meaning UKIP cannot hold their protest in Whitechapel or anywhere else in the borough of Tower Hamlets. Officers from the Met’s Protest Liaison Team remain willing to engage with the organisers if they bring forward a proposal for an event in an alternative location."
Commander Nick John, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: "Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.
"It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location. This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through east London would cause.
"We have a responsibility to use the powers available to us to take steps to avoid both those outcomes. UKIP are free to organise their protest in an alternative location but they will not be holding it in Tower Hamlets.
"Anyone who tries to assemble, in breach of the conditions, or who encourages others to do so, will face arrest. We will still have a sizeable police presence in the area on Saturday to keep the public safe and to intervene to enforce the conditions and deal with any other incidents.’”
UKIP has not yet confirmed whether it will attempt to stage the protest elsewhere in London.
The march, billed as a protest against “Islamists,” had been scheduled to move through Whitechapel on Saturday. Tower Hamlets, which has the highest percentage of Muslim residents in the UK, has seen tensions rise in the run-up to the event. Local community groups raised concerns that the demonstration could spark clashes.
In a formal statement released on Tuesday, the Met said: “Concerns of serious disorder have prompted the Metropolitan Police to intervene and prevent a demonstration from taking place in Tower Hamlets this weekend. … Public Order Act conditions have now been imposed meaning UKIP cannot hold their protest in Whitechapel or anywhere else in the borough of Tower Hamlets. Officers from the Met’s Protest Liaison Team remain willing to engage with the organisers if they bring forward a proposal for an event in an alternative location."
Commander Nick John, who is in charge of the public order policing operation in London this weekend, said: "Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.
"It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location. This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through east London would cause.
"We have a responsibility to use the powers available to us to take steps to avoid both those outcomes. UKIP are free to organise their protest in an alternative location but they will not be holding it in Tower Hamlets.
"Anyone who tries to assemble, in breach of the conditions, or who encourages others to do so, will face arrest. We will still have a sizeable police presence in the area on Saturday to keep the public safe and to intervene to enforce the conditions and deal with any other incidents.’”
UKIP has not yet confirmed whether it will attempt to stage the protest elsewhere in London.
