UK Police Bans Pro-Palestine March From Gathering Outside BBC Headquarters

UK police has banned a pro-Palestinian march from gathering outside the BBC’s headquarters in London, The Guardian newspaper reports.

A gathering in central London was planned for this weekend, intended to begin outside the BBC’s Broadcasting House before marching south towards Whitehall. The Guardian reports that, Thursday evening, police confirmed they had imposed the Public Order Act to prevent the rally, saying it risked “serious disruption” to a nearby synagogue on the Jewish holy day, and requested organisers to alter their plans.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign told The Guardian it condemned the police for using “repressive powers.” Their previous statement said: “The Palestine coalition rejects the implication that our marches are somehow hostile to or a threat to Jewish people. The Met police have acknowledged there has not been a single incident of any threat to a synagogue attached to any of the marches.”

The march had been planned in protest against what organisers called the “pro-Israel bias” of BBC coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Deadline previously reported that, In November 2024, more than 100 BBC employees put their name to a letter accusing the corporation of bias in its coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict. 

The Independent newspaper reported that, in a letter sent to director-general Tim Davie, more than 230 members of the media industry, including 100 BBC staff members and several public figures, accuse the BBC of favouring Israel in its news broadcasts and lacking “consistently fair and accurate evidence-based journalism in its coverage of Gaza.”