Headlines
UK police to get new powers after latest pro-Palestinian protest
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on October 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on October 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
UK police will gain new powers to manage repeat protests after recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations, balancing protest rights with community safety.
LONDON (Reuters) -British police will be given powers to restrict repeat protests in the same place, the government said on Sunday after a latest pro-Palestinian demonstration went ahead despite requests to cancel it in the wake of a deadly attack at a synagogue.
The new powers will allow senior police officers to consider the cumulative impact of previous protests on a local community, the interior ministry said.
"The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country," interior minister Shabana Mahmood said. "However, this freedom must be balanced with the freedom of their neighbours to live their lives without fear."
Mahmood is also due to review the police's existing powers to ensure they are sufficient and consistently applied, including powers to ban protests outright, the ministry said.
"Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to leave their homes," Mahmood said.
"This has been particularly evident in relation to the considerable fear within the Jewish community, which has been expressed to me on many occasions in these recent difficult days."
Two people were killed in Manchester on Thursday on Yom Kippur, the holiest day for Jews, and police shot dead the assailant, a British man of Syrian descent who officials said may have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology.
On Saturday, police arrested almost 500 people in central London in a latest protest in support of Palestine Action, a group that was banned in July after members broke into an airbase and damaged military planes.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer had urged the protest's organisers to call it off out of respect for the grief of British Jews.
(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Jamie Freed)
Public safety refers to the welfare and protection of the general public, often involving law enforcement, emergency services, and regulations to ensure a safe environment for all citizens.
Community impact refers to the effects that actions, policies, or events have on the local population, including social, economic, and environmental consequences.
A demonstration is a public gathering of people to express their views on a particular issue, often involving speeches, signs, and organized activities to raise awareness or advocate for change.
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