Pro Palestinian marches apparently costing police 20 million pounds.

[Jupitersstorm]

Should these be allowed to continue due to the cost of policing? I am all for peaceful and safe protests - it's enshrined in our culture and law - but why are these supposedly peaceful protests costing so much to police? There is now a funding gap - couldn't this tax payers' money be better used elsewhere?

Lots of litter and placards to clear up each time too.

"Pro-Palestine protests cost police '£20million' as thousands more take to London streets on ninth weekend in a row - and plans for them to continue into the New Year"

"Additional pressure on the Met is having a detrimental effect on the welfare of its officers, Mr Khan warned.
'The Met has cancelled nearly 4,000 rest days and for each public order event, the same officers are being deployed,' he said.
'Many officers have worked every weekend since October 7 and sickness rates are rising, a trend which is likely to continue.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12846831/Pro-Palestine-protests-cost-police-20million.html

Oh you want me to do the obligatory I condemn Hamas? Sure. I condemn Hamas.

Yes. I am saying that people can object to the British government supporting mass slaughter without being antisemitic whether they have protested before or not. Of course they can, the images coming out of Gaza of children left in pieces by Israel as their soldiers dance and laugh would turn the hardest of hearts.

@Bitchassmosquito "You really have to be a loathsome bigot to object to Israel defending itself. Especially after the events that led to its creation."

I agree. It all comes down to the definition of "defend" doesn't it?

20 million quid for marches with these many arrests and offensive material? Plus the amount of police time handling the arrests? Definitely money that should be spent on other causes.

Just my two cents.

I’m glad that you condemn Hamas’s mass murder.

Do you condemn Hamas as a fighting force hiding behind civilians? (Not that Hamas wear uniforms and behave like a usual armed force, rather than a group of genocidal - genuinely genocidal, not like the offensive insult thrown at Israel - terrorists?)

Or do you you think that Israel should just suck it up? Because it’s the Jewish state.

Yes, it does. And defence of any country in the face of even mass murder does require some restraint. But when one country is fighting an aggressive nation state or a large organisation that’s a catspaw for a bunch of headbangers like the leaders of Iran, and that is explicitly committed to its annihilation, well, there are necessary actions.

Yes, it does. And defence of any country in the face of even mass murder does require some restraint. But when one country is fighting an aggressive nation state or a large organisation that’s a catspaw for a bunch of headbangers like the leaders of Iran, and that is explicitly committed to its annihilation, well, there are necessary actions.

Well the Israeli prime minister was propping Hamas up for years. Was that necessary?

He may say all this bombing is the only was forward but I’m not sure I trust his judgement.

Does it matter if me sitting over in Ireland condemns everything about Hamas? I'm not pro Hamas. I'm not pro genocide. I'm not pro mass slaughter. That's why I think a ceasefire should have happened a long time ago in conjunction with a 2 state solution and the end of Israels illegal occupations. I can't get behind, no matter, who is doing it is the mass killing of innocent people. I don't care if you call it self defence, never in my life will I call the leaving of babies to rot in a hospital self defence. Never in my life will I call the targeted attacks on medics, aid workers, journalist, medical facilities, schools, places of worship, historical artifacts, agricultural fields olive groves and bakeries 'self defence'.

I think it is enough. My concern is the actual police officers diverted from other places. There was fatal stabbing in my area last week. Not a police officer in sight at weekends ever, yet there are all in central London being spat on.
There just arent enough humans in police force to be everywhere until the force is better funded and recruits more people.
The protesters made their point, i dont know why thier point is not to call for Hamas terrorists to surrender, but now they are just intimidating, scaring tourists and londoners away, affecting buisnesses at busiest time of the year.
Not to mention what shit some of them call for. I guess the only positive is that maybe some of those jihad preechers and potential terrorist will get onto police radar to be monitored.

Oh so what way did I intend DesertRose? Your remarks are goady and inflammatory. Plus incorrect - I did NOT start the anti-Semitic march thread - that was started by another poster actually - I continued it with a Part 2 as per protocol. So please check your facts. However, many posters on those threads branded the marches anti-Semitic.

I also posted this in my thread starter:
" I am all for peaceful and safe protests - it's enshrined in our culture and law - but why are these supposedly peaceful protests costing so much to police?"

This was the crux of my thread question. How exactly, was this question designed to rile people? Unless it riles you to see a question that asks why they cost so much. I never said they should not happen at all.

I can also see that others on this thread have stated how they feel about them - some for and some against. It has gone the way I wanted - to encourage debate. Trouble is some posters become goady and cannot seem to stop themselves becoming antagonistic.

This is not a "but protests" related situation, though!

Although - just to be crystal clear! - it is utterly and completely unacceptable!

I remember being a student, living at around the cheapest possible place you could imagine in Greater London at the time (still a lot cheaper than today!), sharing a one bedroom flat between myself, my then husband, and another couple (we had the bedroom - and the other couple paid less in rent because their "bedroom" did not even have a door).

I also used to have a full-time job at the time, working the night shift to put myself through university.

It happened more than once that I came back [late] from a late shift only to find the police blocking my path home because there had been a stabbing, and I was asked to please wait for an officer to escort me through the crime scene when I pointed out that I, literally, needed to go into the direction that was cordoned off because I, literally, lived there.

One time, the crime scene was the stairwell of the block of flats in which I used to live back then!

Another time, I called 999 due to screaming and shouting from the neighbouring flat - police never turned up (but my [Palestinian!!!] ex-husband and our flatmate intervened and, for that night, at the very least, stopped that bloke from beating his poor, poor wife to death!).

A mere few years later, I ended up living - please do not ask, I got lucky! - at one of these georgeous terraces surrounding Regent's Park. There was some students' accommodation nearby.

One night, as I came home late, I found a collapsed, obviously extremely drunk and presumably not "only" drunk girl on my doorstep in a condition that, being a total non-expert on anything medical, I deemed to be "possibly life-threatening".

Called 999 again! Got immediate instructions as to how to put her into the recovery position, and: some 7 minutes later, first responders turned up - followed by an actual ambulance crew after some 10 minutes! That girl was alright!

Long story short: I have lived in the best and the worst parts of London! And the difference in terms of "what happens when you call 999" has been staggering!!!

NONE OF THIS is "but ... because protests!" - it is more, sorry to be polemic, but I will be here: "the government just does not care about poor people!"

... off topic rant over!

For the record:

I am saying this as someone who is - these days! - considered a "high-earner"!

Just because I have, personally, made it out of the category of "people not worthy of assistance" does NOT mean I have ceased to recognise how unjust the situation is from a systemic POV.

Protests are not to blame for "crap policing of poor areas" - policy is!