More than 1,000 riot police and hundreds of uniformed officers will be on alert in London on Sunday, fearing clashes in a pro-Iran demo.
Riot police will be at the protest centre but uniformed officers will protect mosques and synagogues in the capital and keep guard at the Israeli and Iranian embassies.
Police say they will arrest anyone chanting intifada slogans, showing support for Palestine Action or holding placards inciting hate.
The Al-Quds Day march, held in London for 40 years, was banned last week by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood after pressure from the Met and dozens of MPs.
Instead, a static protest will take place on the South Bank of the Thames for two hours, while a counter-demo gathers on the north side of the river in Westminster.
The Met believes more than 12,000 pro-Iranian protesters will take part, with thousands among the counter-protesters, raising the likelihood of violent clashes despite the river acting as a buffer.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has warned of a powder keg of ‘mutual antagonism’.
Al-Quds Day began in Iran in 1979 after the Ayatollah’s revolution. It spread to the UK, where it has been organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC).
Riot police will be at the protest centre but uniformed officers will protect mosques and synagogues in the capital. Pictured: An Al-Quds Day march in Portland Place on March 23, 2025
Police will arrest anyone chanting intifada slogans or showing support for Palestine Action. Pictured: An Al-Quds Day march on Oxford Street on March 23, 2025
On Saturday it emerged the group had received £458,500 in taxpayer-funded donations since 2020, as it is recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid. This allowed it to claim 25p for every £1 received in donations.
Donations came despite IHRC being under a Charity Commission investigation, and an anti-terrorist Prevent report in 2023 describing it as an ‘Islamist group ideologically aligned with Iran’.
Previous Al-Quds Day rallies have been marred by arrests and the burning of Israeli flags.
Last Saturday, a pro-Iranian protester was stabbed during a rally in West Finchley, North London. On its website, IHRC condemned banning the march.
It said: ‘The police have brazenly abandoned their sworn principle of policing without fear or favour and have capitulated to the pressure of the Zionist lobby.’
Met assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan said: ‘We did not take the decision to ban the march lightly. This is a unique set of circumstances and it was our assessment that the risk of public disorder was so severe, we did not have any other choice.’