Rishi Sunak discussed the “ongoing challenge” facing the Metropolitan Police in his meeting with Sir Mark Rowley following last Saturday’s unrest near the Cenotaph and the pro-Palestinian demonstration, Downing Street said.
The Prime Minister stressed the “vital importance” of pursuing both Hamas supporters and “those responsible for violent scenes” near the war memorial on Armistice Day in his talks with the Met commissioner, Number 10 said.
It comes a day after Suella Braverman was sacked as home secretary, after she branded pro-Palestinian protesters “hate marchers” and accused the police of bias for letting a rally go ahead on Saturday.
Mrs Braverman had also been blamed for stoking tensions after scenes of far-right violence towards officers on Saturday resulted in dozens of arrests.
No 10 said the powers available to officers to deal with protests would be kept under review to see if they need to be beefed up.
There have been suggestions that ministers could give police greater powers to tackle protests following the clashes over the weekend.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The public rightly expect that the full force of the law is used to bear down on some of the shocking scenes of criminality we saw over the weekend, whether it was EDL protesters or those seemingly supporting Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation.”
Speaking after Mr Sunak’s meeting with Sir Mark, he said: “(The Prime Minister and Sir Mark) discussed the ongoing challenge of policing the marches and the need to ensure the Jewish community feels safe in light of the continued use of antisemitic chants and imagery.”
The official said the PM had asked Sir Mark to pass on his thanks to officers on the front line during the weekend, adding: “They have an extremely difficult job to do and he was grateful to them for doing it.”
He added: “It’s important that police have the powers they need to carry out their role and we will continue to keep that under review.”
The commissioner had come under pressure from politicians after several weeks of demonstrations for a ceasefire in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Saturday’s march coincided with Armistice Day and multiple Conservative MPs had urged organisers to cancel the demonstration, which Mr Sunak had branded “provocative and disrespectful”.
The Prime Minister had said that both far-right “thugs” and “those singing antisemitic chants and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing” must face “the full and swift force of the law” following Saturday’s unrest.
We’re backing @metpoliceuk to keep the British public safe.
Home Secretary @JamesCleverly will work with Sir Mark Rowley to drive down crime. pic.twitter.com/GbYKDqLfdn
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) November 14, 2023
Sir Mark also met Mrs Braverman’s replacement, James Cleverly as the Home Office said the new Home Secretary will work with the force to “drive down crime”.
Downing Street did not deny an apparent change in tone within the Home Office since Mr Cleverly took over after the department shared a photo of the minister with Sir Mark, accompanied by the message that the force has the Government’s “backing” to keep the British public safe.
“I’ll leave it to you to decide how to interpret pictures issued by the Home Office,” the PM’s spokesman said.
