Two arrests made after 'hundreds' stage pro-Palestine protest at London's King's Cross station
Two people were arrested during a pro-Palestine protest held at King's Cross station in central London.
Photos showed people holding up Palestinian flags and signs which read "stop the genocide" and "free Palestine".
In videos posted to social media, they can be heard chanting: "In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians." They repeatedly call for a "ceasefire now".
One banner read "stop arming Israel" and, at one point, the names of those killed in Gaza were read out through a megaphone.
Clips which have since been deleted also reportedly showed the demonstrators singing the controversial slogan: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
#CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/weJA2atsgE
— Lisa Tilley (@Tilley101) November 3, 2023
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously criticised this chant as an antisemitic demand for the destruction of Israel - other groups dispute that interpretation of the chant.
The British Transport Police (BTP) confirmed that two arrests had been made "for failure to comply with a section 14 notice".
Earlier, they posted on social media that officers were advising protesters to leave because of a prohibition order in place.
This order was announced earlier on Friday when the force said: “We fully respect the rights of people to protest lawfully but where we believe this could cause serious disruption to railway services, we must take action.
“We have therefore obtained consent to utilise powers under Section 14a of the Public Order Act 1986 which enables BTP to make an order prohibiting a trespassory assembly at Kings Cross station. To organise or take part in an assembly during the prohibition commits an offence.
“We continue to work closely with our partners to manage the impact of protests for those who travel on the railways.”
We are aware of a group gathering at Kings Cross Station, our officers are informing them of the prohibition order in place and advising them to leave.
The prohibition covers the entirety of Kings Cross Station as outlined in the red area in the below map. pic.twitter.com/ojEZAFgZoy— British Transport Police (@BTP) November 3, 2023
The BTP said: "There is now a small demonstration taking place outside the station in Kings Cross square.
"The demonstration inside the station has ended. Passengers can access the station as normal and trains are not disrupted.”Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “While the right to peaceful protest is a key part of our democratic society, it cannot be at the expense of other people’s right not to be seriously disrupted or intimidated.
“That’s why I have granted consent for the British Transport Police to make an order under Section 14A of the Public Order Act 1986 prohibiting the planned protest at Kings Cross Station this evening. This means protest activity at the station is classified as unlawful and anyone taking part will be subject to arrest.
“Officers must have the powers they need for our stations to remain safe places for people to go about their journeys, protecting public safety and preventing disorder.”
Other social media reports show demonstrations at Finsbury Park station and Camberwell Green.
On Tuesday, more than 500 people protested at London Liverpool Street station, where the "from the river to the sea" chant was also heard.
Ms Braverman has come under fire for recently calling pro-Palestine demonstrations "hate marches".
She said: “We’ve seen now tens of thousands of people take to the streets following the massacre of Jewish people, the single largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, chanting for the erasure of Israel from the map.
“To my mind there is only one way to describe those marches: they are hate marches.”
Labour shadow minister Sir Chris Bryant responded on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Her comments were absolutely reprehensible. Saying every single person in those marches was involved in a hate march, well that patently isn’t true and it makes it more difficult for police to do their job properly.”
Ms Braverman has previously spoken about criminalising the Palestinian flag and the phrase "from the river to the sea".