Pro-Palestinian protests since the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel have cost the British taxpayer over £20 million in policing expenses, a government review has found.
A review conducted by the UK Government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption, Lord Walney, has found that over £20 million has been spent on policing anti-Israel protests over the past three months alone.
The costs were driven in large part by persistent protests in London. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist told parliament last month that between October 7th and December 8th, the Met had spent £17 million to cover the protests, according to The Telegraph.
Twist described it as the “greatest period of sustained pressure on the Met since the Olympics in 2012,” saying that the London police force has been forced to devote 28,000 standard officer shifts to policing pro-Palestinian demos in addition to 1,600 shifts contributed to the London effort from other police forces from around the country.
The assistant commissioner went on to reveal that 6,000 hours of officer time has also been devoted to carrying out investigations into some 800 hate crimes associated with the anti-Israel marches in London.
The demonstrations in the British capital have frequently drawn controversy and outrage over the anti-Semitic messages and symbols seen during the rallies, including images appearing to celebrate the Hamas terrorists who used paragliders to stage a murderous rampage at a peace-themed music festival in Southern Israel on October 7th. Under British law, which has many restrictions on speech, it is illegal to display images in support of proscribed terrorist organisations such as Hamas.
In his independent government report, Lord Walney argued that because of the frequency and scale of the pro-Palestinian protests, the activist groups behind the demonstrations should contribute money to fund the expensive policing operations.
The review reportedly stated that “the number of marches being organised around the Israel-Hamas conflict, the scale of these marches, and the behaviour of some protesters means that a great amount of police resource is being directed to these protests”.
“When groups run so many mass protests, the authorities should consider whether organisers should be asked to contribute to policing costs,” Lord Walney continued, adding: “With the repeated incitements and disorder seen at the anti-Israel marches, such as when firecrackers have been thrown at police, I believe that there is an argument that the organisers should cover some of these policing costs.”
Lord Walney, a former Labour Party MP, pointed to the relationship between the police and football clubs, who often contribute financially to subsidise the cost of policing matches, with police recouping £5.5 million last year out of the total £48 million spent on policing matches in England and Wales in 2019.
Although he admitted that forcing activist groups to subsidise their policing costs to hold protests could have a stifling impact on freedom of speech, Lord Walney said: “The right to protest is vital but there are many ways people can make their views known that do not involve hundreds of officers being deployed. If groups insist on frequent large-scale events that require large police teams to control crowds and deal with lawbreaking, it will inevitably damage their ability to fight crime in other areas.”
“When police resources are being pushed to breaking point, it seems reasonable to consider requiring organisers to offset policing costs in the way that has long been commonplace for football matches.”