Met Police declare march “reckless” amid threat of disorder
The Metropolitan Police have slammed the brakes on UKIP’s planned Christian march in east London’s Whitechapel, calling it “reckless” due to the high risk of violent clashes. The “Walk With Jesus” procession, set for January 31, was blocked for the second time in months in Tower Hamlets, an area with one of Britain’s largest Muslim communities.
Safety trumps politics in second UKIP ban
Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman stressed the ban is a public safety move – not political. “We reasonably believe there would be a hostile local reaction to their presence, which many may see as provocative, leading to violence and disorder,” he said. “We simply can’t allow that to happen.”
Organisers promoted the march as a Christian worship event during “the month dedicated to the holy name of Jesus.” But the Met warned that anyone ignoring the ban will be arrested.
UKIP urged to pick a safer route to avoid trouble
Mr Harman urged UKIP to work with the police to find an alternative location and route for the march. “We’ve had limited cooperation from organisers so far,” he added. If UKIP agree, the event could go ahead as their west London rally did previously.
October’s banned UKIP rally sparked a huge masked counter-protest
This latest ban echoes a similar Met move in October, when a UKIP “Mass Deportations Tour” in Tower Hamlets was axed over fear of “serious disorder.” That protest triggered hundreds of local Bangladeshi men to march masked and chanting “Allahu Akbar” in a show of community defiance.
Nigel Farage called the scenes “one of the most terrifying things” he’d ever seen, likening it to “a foreign invading army marching through our streets.” He slammed the police for “caving in to Islamists” and crushing his party’s democratic rights.
But the Met insists safety, not politics, guides their decisions to block these volatile marches.
