Senior officials in Britain’s royal family released grim figures as they attended a Remembrance Sunday service in central London.
King Charles III, his heir Prince William and Princess Anne attended a service at the Whitehall cenotaph on Sunday morning, 24 hours after chaos erupted at the famous memorial, with nationalist protesters attacking police.
Queen Camilla and Princess Catherine watched the ceremony from a balcony with a view.
The King laid a wreath at the foot of the cenotaph and led the UK to practice two minutes of silence at 11am. Guillaume also laid a wreath of poppies.
The occasion took place in a calm and dignified atmosphere, a welcome revival of the atmosphere on Armistice Day, when far-right groups arrived in London to face a massive simultaneous march of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
The protest was a source of political controversy in the previous week, when British Home Secretary Suella Braverman (roughly equivalent to our Home Secretary), called the pro-Palestinian protests “hate marches” and criticized London’s Metropolitan Police. , she’s too soft on them.
“I don’t think these marches are just a cry for help for Gaza. This is a declaration of primacy on the part of certain groups, namely Islamists,” Ms. Braverman wrote midweek.
He argued that the police were “playing favoritism” and favoring left-wing protests, such as those of the Black Lives Matter call, as opposed to white nationalist or anti-Covid lockdown protests.
Braverman also raised considerations that the march, planned for the same weekend as Armistice Day, could lead to the vandalism of war memorials such as the Cenotaph.
In fact, the leadership of the pro-Palestinian march did not reach the cenotaph and was not affected by violence or vandalism, although some Americans among the crowd of around 300,000 are under investigation for waving anti-Semitic signs, dressed in pro-Palestinian clothing. -Hamas or confront members of the public.
Police guarding the cenotaph were eventually forced to confront nationalist counter-protesters, who claimed their purpose was to protect the site. Counter-protesters clashed with law enforcement, threw projectiles at police, and disrupted the Armistice Day ritual with chants; They never reached the monument.
There were minor clashes with the police that day, with some counter-protesters attempting to confront the main march and being denied access to their route.
Police arrested another 126 people, most of them in the confrontation near the cenotaph. Since then, they have released photographs of other people at the big march suspected of committing hate crimes or supporting Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the British government. Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying the suspects.
At the end of the day, the Met issued a lengthy explanation of its handling of the grieving protest groups.
“Today’s operation was carried out in unique circumstances, against the backdrop of clashes in the Middle East, Armistice Day, and after a week of intense debate over protests and policing. All of this has combined to increase community tensions,” said Deputy Commissioner Matt Girar.
“The excessive violence of right-wing protesters towards the police today was normal and deeply troubling. They arrived early, claiming they were there to protect the monuments, but some were already drunk, competitive, and obviously looking for a confrontation.
Abuses have targeted officials protecting the cenotaph, adding “You’re no longer English” scans. This organisation was largely made up of football hooligans from across the UK and spent most of the day attacking or threatening officials trying to save it. prevent them from entering to be able to face the major pass.
“Many members of these teams were stopped and searched and weapons were found, as well as a knife, a baton and a brass knuckles, as well as class A drugs. Thanks to the extensive efforts of our officers, who put themselves in harm’s way, no one He was able to triumph at the Cenotaph, which was there at all times.
“Nine police officers were injured that day, two of whom required hospital treatment due to an elbow fracture and suspected hip dislocation. These officers were injured in Whitehall while preventing a violent mob from reaching the cenotaph while a memorial service was being held.
“While the march of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign was not marked by the kind of physical violence perpetrated by the right, we know that for London’s Jewish communities, whose fears and considerations we surely recognize, the effect of hate crimes and specific anti-Semitic crimes is equally significant.
“At the end of the march, we saw dissident teams behaving in an intimidating manner. Officers intercepted a group of 150 other people who were wearing masks and firing fireworks. The arrests were made after some fireworks hit police officers in the face.
“A number of serious crimes similar to hate crimes and possible aiding and abetting banned organizations were also identified during the protest, which we are actively investigating.
“Locating and intercepting suspects in a crowd of this magnitude will be challenging, but our ability to do so was even more limited because of the number of officers we had to deploy, early on, in reaction to right-wing violence. “Wing groups.
He said he was proud of the efforts made through the police, given the difficult cases at the time.
Originally as somber senior royals at the Remembrance Sunday service, a day after chaos erupted at the same venue.