Minister's warning as pressure grows to axe Armistice Day march

THE organisers of a pro-Palestinian Armistice Day protest in London were under increasing pressure to call off the march as the Justice Secretary warned that it risked encouraging “toxic, hatefilled” ideology

- Martin Bentham 

Alex Chalk said he and the Government supported a Met decision to ask the organisers of Saturday’s march to postpone it because of what Scotland Yard said was a growing “risk of violence and disorder linked to breakaway groups” at the event.

The request — which came as the Met said there had been more than 160 arrests, including for racially motivated crimes and alleged terror offences at previous London protests over Gaza — has so far been refused. But Mr Chalk stepped up the pressure today by warning that even those intending to protest peacefully would be in danger of giving support to extremists at what was an “extremely important time in our calendar” because of the Armistice Day commemorations.