Crackdown comes after Met Police urged Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to act
Previous marches have seen calls to wipe Israel ‘off the map’ (Image: Getty)
Labour has finally banned a pro-Iran rally due to take place this weekend after a minister admitted it had no place in British society. The move came after the Met Police asked the Home Secretary to ban the protest in the first use of the power since 2012.
Shabana Mahmood said she expected “to see the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division instead of exercising their right to peaceful protest”. Organisers from the Islamic Human Rights Commission have previously referred to the former Supreme Leader of Iran as a martyr and a “role model” after his assassination by the US.
Previous instances of the march have seen protesters calling for Israel to be “wiped off the map” alongside attendees waving flags of Hezbollah, a terrorist organisation. The annual march is held during Ramadan and is named after the Arabic word for Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, courts minister Sarah Sackman said: “Those expressing support for the malign regime in Iran and the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and its proxies have no place in our society.”
Shadow home affairs minister Alicia Kearns said: “It would be an enormous insult to our brave armed forces if the very people currently attacking them were being celebrated here on our streets.”
While the request to ban the march is an operational matter for the police, Ms Mahmood is required to sign off on any ban, which she has now done.
Organisers said the event “offers a platform for all those who stand for justice against colonialism, oppression and apartheid to come together”.
Shabana Mahmood signed off on the ban after Met Police request (Image: Getty)
They have claimed the march is a pro-Palestinian event despite being criticised for platforming the views of the Iranian regime.
It is understood that there will be a static protest instead of the march, with the police due to impose strict conditions on that gathering as well.
Faisal Bodi, from the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said that the ban would mean a “sad day for freedom of expression”.
Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, public order lead for the Met, said the march “raises unique risks and challenges” and added: “We have taken into consideration the likely impact on protests of the volatile situation in the Middle East, with the Iranian regime attacking British allies and military bases overseas.”
The Met stressed they would do “everything we can to reduce violence and disorder”.
In 2024, 10 people were arrested, and last year, one arrest was made in connection with an alleged public order offence.
