Three officers injured and 40 people arrested after police clash with pro-Palestine protesters in Westminster

29 May 2024, 05:43

Three police officers were injured and 40 people have been arrested following a pro-Palestinian protest in London on Tuesday evening.

One officer was left with a serious facial injury after she was hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd, while two other officers suffered minor injuries.

Metropolitan Police said the suspect who threw the bottle has not been identified but the force is investigating.

Videos taken at the event on Tuesday evening show thousands of Palestine supporters taking over the streets around Parliament, with crowds chanting and reportedly blocking roads.

The protest was organised by a coalition of groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Group, and began at around 6pm on Tuesday and was required to end at 8pm.

The force said the turnout of the event “significantly exceeded the estimates of the organisers”.

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The majority of the crowd, which was between 8,000 and 10,000 people, left Whitehall without incident, police said.

However, a group of around 500 people remained and police began making a number of arrests for being in breach of the protest time conditions laid out.

Some of the crowd resisted arrest which required police to "use force" to remove them from the crowd.

A group of protesters then broke away with some of the crowd and marched to Bridge Street, outside Westminster Station, where police put up cordons to detain the group.

Officers went into the crowd just before 10pm to arrest those suspected of leading the breakaway protest.

At around 2am on Wednesday, police said all protestors had left the area and Bridge Street had been reopened.

A police statement said that 40 people were arrested for offences including breaking the Public Order Act, obstruction of a highway and assaults on emergency workers.

The protests were held to reiterate calls for a ceasefire in Gaza following an Israeli strike on a tent encampment in Rafah on Sunday.

The airstrike killed at least 45 Palestinians, in an incident that was described as a “tragic mishap” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Demonstrations were held across Europe on Tuesday evening, with protests also seen in France, Italy and Poland.