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UK plans police crackdown on chants at pro-Palestine protests

Wednesday, 08 October 2025 7:29 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 08 October 2025 7:29 PM ]

Police officers arrest a Palestine Action supporter at a protest in London, 4 October 2025. (Photo: Zuma Press Wire)

The UK government is preparing to grant police expanded powers to crack down on chants and slogans at pro-Palestine protests.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters that new measures being drafted by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will consider the “cumulative impact” of demonstrations, and could go even further than initially announced.

Starmer was referring to an earlier announcement by Mahmoud that restrictions will be imposed on repeat protests in London and elsewhere as they cause “considerable fear” for the Jewish community in Britain.

His remarks came hours after students across the country defied his calls and staged large pro-Gaza marches on university campuses, marking the second anniversary of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.

The demonstrations were held in solidarity with the Palestinian people and in support of Palestine Action — a group the prime minister had urged to cancel its protests following a deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue last week that left two people dead.

Starmer has described the protests as “un-British,” claiming they show “a lack of respect,” and alleging that pro-Palestine demonstrations have been used by some as “a despicable excuse to attack British Jews.”

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Free speech campaigners and rights groups have condemned the proposed crackdown, warning it would violate fundamental civil liberties and criminalize legitimate political expression.

Pro-Israel organizations in the UK have lobbied for tighter restrictions, claiming some chants heard at rallies, including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, are antisemitic.

Protesters and their supporters, however, say the chant calls for freedom and justice for all Palestinians and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Several European governments, including Germany, have recently resorted to violent repression of anti-Israel demonstrations, invoking accusations of antisemitism or terrorism, often on vague or unsubstantiated grounds.

Critics say such crackdowns are unjustified as the pro-Palestine activism targets the policies of the Israeli regime and not the world’s Jewish population.

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