LONDON: British police came under mounting government pressure on Wednesday to ban a pro-Palestinian rally scheduled to take place in London on the day the country commemorates its war dead.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would hold the Metropolitan Police commissioner “accountable” for his decision to allow the demonstration against Israel to go ahead on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Britain’s capital to demand a ceasefire in the month-old unrest.

The Conservative leader says a march on Armistice Day (Nov 11) would be “provocative and disrespectful” but organisers have resisted his pleas and those from the Met Police to postpone the demonstration.

Met Police chief Mark Rowley has said the rally, organised by the Stop the War Coalition, does not meet the threshold for requesting a government order to stop it going ahead. Rowley said such a ban was “incredibly rare” and a “last resort” where there is a serious threat of disorder.

“The events taking place this weekend are of great significance and importance to our nation,” he said in a statement. “We will do everything in our power to ensure they pass without disruption.”

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2023