A group of UK legal scholars is calling for an independent investigation into the Metropolitan Police’s handling of a recent pro-Palestine protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) against Israel’s actions in Gaza. Police imposed strict restrictions, barring protesters from gathering near the BBC headquarters, citing concerns about a nearby synagogue. Legal experts criticised the move as an attack on the right to protest and a threat to civil liberties.

In a letter to the UK government, the scholars urged authorities to drop charges against PSC Director Ben Jamal and Stop the War’s Chris Nineham, arrested for allegedly breaching restrictions. Authorities claimed the measures were necessary to protect the Jewish community during the Sabbath, but critics argue the synagogue was not on the protest route, and services had ended before the demonstration.

Campaigners accuse the police of double standards, noting that pro-Palestinian events faced restrictions while pro-Israel gatherings did not. They dismissed the police’s justifications, such as concerns over parking and timing, as weak excuses to stifle dissent.

The scholars emphasised the UK’s legal duty under the European Convention on Human Rights to protect peaceful protest. They warned that recent crackdowns on pro-Palestinian demonstrations signal a worrying erosion of democratic freedoms and urged the government to repeal anti-protest laws and conduct a full independent review.