‘The police should not be misusing public order powers to shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny’
We strongly condemn police attempts to stop an agreed march for Palestine from protesting at the BBC on 18 January.
The route for the march was confirmed with the Police nearly two months ago and, as agreed with them, was publicly announced on 30 November. This route, beginning at the BBC, has only been used twice in the last 15 months of demonstrations and not since February 2024. With just over a week to go, the Metropolitan Police is reneging on the agreement and has stated its intention to prevent the protest from going ahead as planned.
The BBC is a major institution – it is a publicly-funded state broadcaster and is rightly accountable to the public. The police should not be misusing public order powers to shield the BBC from democratic scrutiny.
The excuse offered by the police is that the march could cause disruption to a nearby synagogue which is not even on the march route. As the Met Police have acknowledged, there has not been a single incident of any threat to a synagogue attached to any of the marches. Any suggestion that pro-Palestine marches are somehow hostile to Jewish people ignores the fact that Jewish people have been joining the marches in their thousands.
The rights to protest and free speech are precious. It is not acceptable in a democratic society that, in the face of an ongoing genocide in Gaza, people should be barred from protesting at the BBC. We call on the police to drop their objections and allow the protest to go ahead as planned.
Full list if signatories below:
Palestine Coalition Organisations
Adnan Hmidan, Acting Chairman, Palestinian Forum in Britain
Ben Jamal, Director, Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Ismail Patel, Chairman, Friends of Al-Aqsa
Lindsey German, Convenor, Stop the War Coalition
Raghad Altikriti, Chair, Muslim Association of Britain
Sophie Bolt, General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Members of Parliament
Adnan Hussain MP
Andy McDonald MP
Apsana Begum MP
Ayoub Khan MP
Baroness Christine Blower
Baroness Jenny Jones
Baroness Pauline Bryan
Bell Riberio Addy MP
Brendan O’Hara MP
Brian Leishman MP
Carla Denyer MP
Cathal Mallaghan MP
Chris Hazzard MP
Chris Law MP
Dáire Hughes MP
Dawn Butler MP
Diane Abbott MP
Grahame Morris MP
Ian Byrne MP
Imran Hussain MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
John Finucane MP
John McDonnell MP
Jon Trickett MP
Kim Johnson MP
Lord Bryn Davies
Lord John Hendy
Lord Prem Sikka
Nadia Whittome MP
Órfhlaith Begley MP
Pat Cullen MP
Paul Maskey MP
Richard Burgon MP
Seamus Logan MP
Shockat Adam MP
Siân Berry MP
Steve Witherden MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Trade Union and Civil Society Leaders
Akiko Hart, Director, Liberty
Amnesty International UK
Asad Rehman, Executive Director, War on Want
Brian Linn, General Secretary, Aegis the Union
Climate Justice Coalition
Daniel Garnham, General Secretary, Security Industry Federation (SIF)
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary, National Education Union (NEU)
Dave Ward, General Secretary, Communication Workers Union (CWU)
Dr Jo Grady, General Secretary, University College Union (UCU)
Dr Sara Husseini, Director, British Palestinian Committee
Fran Heathcote, General Secretary, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
Gawain Little, General Secretary, General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU)
Greenpeace
John McGowan, General Secretary, Social Workers Union (SWU)
Louise Hazan, Co-Director, Tipping Point UK
Maryam Eslamdoust, General Secretary, Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA)
Matt Wrack, General Secretary, Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
Mick Lynch, General Secretary, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)
Mick Whelan, General Secretary, Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF)
Nick Dearden, Director, Global Justice Now
People & Planet
Peace & Justice Project
Rev Chris Rose, Director, Amos Trust
Sarah Woolley, General Secretary, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU)
Steve Gillan, General Secretary, Prison Officers Association (POA)
Zamir Dreni, General Secretary, App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU)
Zita Holbourne, Joint National Chair, Artists Union England and Chair BARAC UK
Prominent individuals including artists, journalists, academics and lawyers
Ahdaf Soueif, novelist
Ahmed Alnaouq, journalist and director of We Are Not Numbers
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, journalist
Alex Nunns, author
Alexei Sayle, author and comedian
Andrew Murray, journalist
Andy de la Tour, actor
Bilal Hasna, actor
Brian Eno, musician
Charlotte Church, singer
Daniel Levy, writer and political analyst
Francesca Martinez, comedian and writer
Harriet Walter, actor
Jasleen Kaur, artist (winner of the Turner Prize 2024)
Jen Brister, comedian and actor
John Rees, journalist
Juliet Stevenson, actress
Kamila Shamsie, novelist
Katharine Hamnett, fashion designer
Ken Loach, director
Khalid Abdalla, actor
Kim Longinotto, filmmaker
Kneecap
Mark Adderley, director
Mark Rylance, actor
Mark Seddon, former Speechwriter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Max Porter, writer
Maxine Peake, actor and writer
Mike Lerner, producer
Myriam François, journalist and filmmaker
Nadia Sawalha, actor
Nadim Sawalha, actor
Nancy Strang, producer and filmmaker
Omar Robert Hamilton, author
Owen Jones, journalist
Pam Hogg, fashion designer
Peter Kennard, Professor Emeritus of Political Art, Royal College of Art
Rachel Holmes, author
Rana Begum RA, artist
Rebecca O’Brien, producer
Richard Sanders, journalist and TV producer
Sarah Agha, actress
Susan Abulhawa, author
Taj Ali, journalist
Tariq Ali, political activist and writer
Tony Graham, theatre director
Tracy Seaward, producer
Victoria Brittain, journalist and author
Vijay Prashad, author
Yanis Varoufakis, economist and politician
Zackie Achmat, filmmaker and activist
Alex Callinicos, Emeritus Professor of European Studies, Kings College London
Alex Gordon, former President, RMT
Amira Nimerawi, CEO, Health Workers 4 Palestine (HW4P)
Anas Altikriti, CEO & Founder, The Cordoba Foundation
Andi Kocsondi, GFTU National Executive
Andrew Feinstein, political activist
Barnaby Raine, historian
Chris Doyle, Director, Caabu
Clare Short, former Secretary of State for International Development
Claudia Webbe, former MP
Dr Andrew Myerson, A and E Doctor, London Hospital
Dr Elina Shaari, Surgeon, London
Dr Michelle Staggs Kelsall, Senior Lecturer in International Law, SOAS University of London
Dr Paul O’Connell, Reader in Law, SOAS University of London
Fraser McGuire, Unite the Union
Gholam Kiabany, Goldsmiths, University of London
Hugh Lanning, Labour & Palestine
James Schneider, author and activist
Jess Barnard, Labour National Executive Committee
Jo Siedlecka, Editor, Independent Catholic News
Khaled Dawas, Director of GI Surgery, UCLH
Leanne Mohamad, political activist
Linsay Taylor, CEO, Muslim Engagement & Development (MEND)
Matt Foot, Criminal Defence Lawyer
Max Holloway, Leader of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council
Mohammed Kozbar, Deputy Secretary General, Muslim Council of Britain
Muhammad Uddin, Newham Muslim Forum
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Jewish Voice for Labour
Nimer Sultany, Reader in Public Law, SOAS University of London
Omar Abdel-Mannan, President/Chair, Health Workers 4 Palestine (HW4P)
Paul Heron, Legal Director, Public Interest Law Centre
Professor Adam Hanieh, University of Exeter
Professor Alpha Shah, University of Oxford
Professor Catherine Rottenberg
Professor Des Freedman, Goldsmiths, University of London
Professor Jonathan Rosenhead
Professor Justin Schlosberg, University of Westminster
Professor Laleh Khalili, University of Exeter
Professor Natalie Fenton, Goldsmiths, London University
Professor Neve Gordon
Swee Ang, co-founder and honorary patron, Medical Aid for Palestinians
Todd Wilson, President, American Association of University Professors
Zack Polanski, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and London Assembly Member
Zoë Garbett, Green Party London Assembly Member
Before you go
The ongoing genocide in Gaza, Starmer’s austerity and the danger of a resurgent far right demonstrate the urgent need for socialist organisation and ideas. Counterfire has been central to the Palestine revolt and we are committed to building mass, united movements of resistance. Become a member today and join the fightback.
